Businessman Zameer Karim is facing a charge of intent to defraud Ecobank over K850 million, which is connected to Police food rations scandal of 2015, local media reported Tuesday.He has been in Police custody since last Thursday before being granted court bail on Monday after being formally charged.
He along side Victoria Chanza, an employee of the bank pleaded not guilty to three counts of fraud, forgery and altering a false document when they appeared before principal resident magistrate Viva Nyimba in Lilongwe.
Zammer Karim
In the latest case, Karim is accused of presenting a notice of assignment of proceeds to the bank purporting to have been signed by Malawi Police Service director of finance and his deputy.Chanza was granted police bail on Saturday following her arrest on Friday .
Granting the bail, the court ordered the suspects to pay bail bond of K500,000 cash, one surety at K1 million non-cash, surrender travel documents and to be appearing at Chichiri Police in Blantyre every fortnight.
President Chakwera was exceptionally treated badly as he was leaving South Africa. Unprecedented 7 Hours of unexplained delay. Searching and searching. All protocols were broken. Geneva Convention Instruments that govern diplomatic immunity were broken. Was President Chakwera treated in this manner because Malawi is a poor country?Is poverty a crime and or source of indignity in itself?
President Chakwera travelled to South Africa to meet his fellow counterpart. He wasn’t there on his personal business. As Head of Sovereign State, he deserved nothing less but all respect, dignity and protocols observed by the host country. Common Sense Observation dictates that we ask a simple question. Would South Africa treat US, UK, Chinese and or Germany President in the same manner based on some someone facing trial in that country? The answer is resoundingly NO. Insult to injury is what Tito Mboweni, South African Senior Cabinet Minister twitted. Implying that Authorities in South Africa believed that the Malawian President travelled, in part, to smuggle Prophet Bushiri out. That thought alone is very problematic. It implies that in Malawi we condone criminality and we share in the loot as such we will endeavor to help out suspects when in trouble.
Bushiri and Wife Mary
Presumption of Innocence. At Law, Prophet Bushiri is innocent until proven guilty. He is not yet the criminal. The State is yet to prove that he is a thief. South African constitution guarantees Bushiri that benefit. He is innocent. Yet authorities believe he is a criminal even before their own investigation is completed.Legal Technicallity. Bushiri had not yet broken his bail conditions by the time President Chakwera was being humiliated. They only discovered that Bushiri was gone after he failed to report to the police and indeed after he himself publicly said he had left South Africa.
The treatment of President Chakwera at the hands of South African Law Enforcement Agencies give substance to Shepherd Bushiri complaints.All being equal, I agree with Bushiri that he is indeed being persecuted and MAY INDEED NOT face a fair trial. South African Authorities have a marmoth task to convince any reasonable person otherwise. They have set a precedence. If they can ill-treat the President, who is Bushiri?
Summation: What has happened to President Chakwera reverberates and resonates across the African Continent. Africa as a continent bitterly bemoans the attitude of South Africans. People from Africa are less human on South African soil. What a shame. What’s Good for the Ganda is Good for the Goose.
The Minister of Civic Education and National Unity Hon Timothy Mtambo was in Chitipa on Saturday where he engaged with people on issues regarding his ministry. The minister also toured a number of centres where affordable farm inputs are being sold.
The aim was to monitor how the affordable farm inputs program is progressing. On his visit the Minister noted a key challenge of network inefficiency in which the transacting system, which is network-based, is mostly experiencing slow performances and breakdowns. This is a glitch that has been equally reported in other numerous selling points across the country.
In his address to the locals , Mtambo assured the people of Chitipa, and the rest of the beneficiaries elsewhere across the country that they are going to benefit from the program nevertheless as long as they are available in the system as experts are hands on to rectify the glitch.
Speaking to reporters the Minister expressed his appreciation of the reception he got in Chitipa “It was particularly encouraging to hear people in Chitipa commending the new administration for actually implementing the program within its short period so far. This is a satisfaction that must be nourished through rectifying the underlying challenges” said Mtambo
The Civic Education Minister also took advantage of the gathering to also conduct some civic education on the underlying social ills of rape and mob justice that have been on the increase in the country .
President Lazarus Chakwera on Saturday led students, teachers and parents in commemorating Kamuzu Academy (KA) founder’s day in Mtunthama, Kasungu.
The country’s founding president the late Ngwazi Hastings Kamuzu Banda opened the school on November 21 1981.
Accompanied by the First Lady Monica Chakwera and Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima, the President dwelled on the issue of national building in his address.
Kamuzu Academy Students
He said the true measure of the quality of education delivered at Kamuzu Academy and any other education institution is not in the strength of the curriculum or the credentials of teachers who facilitate it, but the men and women that the education produces.
“In short what has always set this institution apart is the ability or the utility of the student to the project of national building that awaits them,” said Chakwera.
The President said as people in this country the work of national building is far from done.
“Even though my administration has been entrusted with a task of building a new Malawi there are many obstacles that we must surmount on account of that in the quarter of the century this task has been neglected.
“By way of illustration, at a time when there should have been many public schools of Kamuzu Academy calibre, we have an education system so full of rubble and mediocrity that it will take years just to clear it or to replace it.
“We find ourselves in a strange situation of needing much more than the urgency of the state to fix what is broken in this nation, we need fine men and women who themselves have capacity to break barriers and lead us towards new frontiers and unscaled heights of innovations and development,” he said.
Chakwera said, thankfully Kamuzu Academy has always led the way in producing fine men and women and barrier breakers who are ready not only to go to college and get a job but to make a mark in Malawi.
He mentioned some of the people who have passed through the corridors of the prestigious grammar school in Yolanda Kaunda who is the first female pilot in Malawi, Samuel Kampondeni, Malawi’s first radiologist, Samson Kambalu an artist whose artwork has been exhibited at international level, Chanju Samantha Mwale who broke barriers as a first female lawyer in Malawi Defence Force and Catherine Gotani Hara who is currently Speaker of Parliament.
Before the President spoke there were also several speakers who made their remarks asking Malawians to emulate an example set by Kamuzu Banda whom he described as principled and patriotic son of Malawi in establishing the school also called the Eton of Africa.
Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje tackled on the issue Kamuzu as a founder on the belief of quality education.
“The founder of this institution was a man who cherished a deep belief in quality and excellence and recognized the central importance of education to bring development in Malawi.
“Kamuzu Academy is truly an embodiment of this belief and commitment and excellence applied to education,” said NyaLonje.
Headmaster of the school, Andrew Wild, said Kamuzu Banda’s love turned into service as he realized that leaders needed quality education and that is why he built the school.
“He brought to Mtunthama, the best possible materials like strongest bricks and hardest timber to build the academy that was to last for generations. He also brought to it best possible pupils, highest scoring boys and girls from each district,” said Wild.
He therefore asked the president if the initiative of having government sponsored students to the institution to continue.
During the ceremony there were several lessons from the Bible read by students in different languages including Latin, Chinese, French, Chichewa and English.
The school chaplain, Reverend Gerald Guduli, led those who gathered in praising the Lord by preaching the word of God as the institution was also founded with strong belief in God as one of the followed principles.
After arriving at the school, Chakwera toured some displays the students showcased.
Present at the event were notable figures in Ministers like Ken Kandodo, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda who are all relations to late Kamuzu and Lingson Belekanyama and also Deputy Minister of Education Madalisto Wirima Kambauwa.
Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara and her deputy Madalitso Kazombo( another relation to Kamuzu), secretary to the president Zangazanga Chikhosi also attended the ceremony.
Kamuzu Academy has about 650 students and about 50 teachers who are Malawians, British and Chinese
Malawis talented musician Patience Namadingo has been awarded a doctorate degree by the University of South Africa. Dr Namadingo has been given the honour in respect of his great works towarda humanitarian works
Making the announcement on his official Facebook page, Namadingo said “It is with great joy and honour that today, the 14th of November 2020,a mile stone in the incredible and praise worthy journey of one PatienceNamadingo– a true son of the land”
The University of South Africa (UNISA) which is an institution of high repute in the world has recognised Namadingo honoured him with a Doctorate Degree for his humanitarian efforts in Malawi, for the people of Malawi. Namadingo has been known for high profile works that includes fundraising for Cancer treatments for one of Malawian musician, helping celebrated veteran musician Giddes Chalamanda and many other notable works
UNISA has highlighted Patience Namadingo’s positive social impact and philanthropic work that has inspired others across Africa, and hopefully beyond.
Namadingo received his honorary Doctorate Degree during UNISA’s graduation ceremony at its Main Campus in pretoria in the ZK Mathews Great Hall. Nine Doctor graduated today from four different African countries, the youngest of them all being the Malawian Patience Namadingo.
