By Chisomo Phiri
A legal hearing involving businessperson Shiraz Ferreira of SF International who is seeking $7.1 million in compensation from the Malawi government was abruptly halted on Thursday at the Commercial Division of the High Court in Lilongwe after his lawyer,Shabir Khan, suddenly fell ill with a severe cough during the proceedings, necessitating immediate medical attention.
High Court Judge Chifundo Kachale, presiding over the case,ordered the hearing to resume on Friday.
Ferreira claims to have supplied military hardware to the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) between 2012 and 2017.Â
He alleges he supplied the equipment for a total of $30 million in two installments, but that the outstanding amount is due to delayed payments and legal collection fees.
On November 4, 2021, Ferreira initiated legal action against the Attorney General(AG)’s office, claiming $6,942,359.49 in compound interest for delayed payments, plus $208,270.78 in legal collection costs, and additional costs associated with the lawsuit.
The AG’s office, in 2013, countered that Ferreira had received an advance payment of approximately $10.8 million for the contract and that, after three years, the actual value of the supplied equipment totalled only $8 million.
