The High Court has dismissed an application in which former president Peter Mutharika’s personal bodyguard Norman Chisale was challenging an application by the State to forfeit his assets.
The Court began hearing an application by the State on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, seeking to permanently forfeit Chisale’s assets valued at K1.7 billion. These assets are believed to have been acquired through illicit means.
The assets in question were initially seized in 2021 when the court ordered that Chisale’s properties be placed under the control of the State as per the Financial Crimes Act until the conclusion of the forfeiture proceedings, or until further court orders were issued.
However, Chisale made an interim application seeking to stop the Court from hearing the State’s application. Delivering the ruling to Chisale’s application today in Blantyre, the High Court Judge Anneline Kanthambi noted that there was nothing that stopped the Court from proceeding to hear the State’s application for Chisale’s assets forfeiture.
But soon after Kanthambi’s ruling, Chisale through his lawyer Chancy Gondwe asked the court to allow him to appeal the judge’s determination in the Supreme Court of Appeal. He further asked the court to stay the proceedings pending the Supreme Court of Appeal determination on the matter. But in her ruling, Kanthambi also dismissed Chisale’s reactive application.
Chisale’s lawyer, Chancy Gondwe, was unable to demonstrate a defense of why the State should not forfeit the property believed to be tainted with crime, instead arguing that the case is politically motivated and designed to distract from the “significant challenges” facing the nation.
“We assert that there is no valid case here; rather, this is an intimidation tactic against our client. We remain committed to defending his rights and reputation,” Gondwe stated despite seeking to dodge the hearing through an application that has since been dismissed.
In 2021, the High Court granted an order allowing the State to seize Chisale’s assets, which the government alleges were acquired illegally. The list of seized property includes a staggering 86 motor vehicles and 21 real estate properties, comprising residential houses and commercial buildings located in various suburbs of Blantyre and Lilongwe, as well as Chisale’s home district of Ntcheu and other areas, including Dedza and Mangochi.
The seized vehicles comprise a range of luxury models, including 48 Toyota vehicles such as Prado, Noah, and Land Cruiser, alongside three Mercedes-Benz and various other brands including BMW, Audi, and Nissan. Some vehicles were registered only with chassis numbers.
Apart from Norman Paulos Chisale, other respondents include Chimwemwe Paulosi (trading as Namauya Investments), Deborah Zimatha Chisale, Esnart Guga, Flony Guga, Jannet Fatch Kamanga, and Christina Mvula, listed as the first to sixth respondents, respectively. Of the seized vehicles, 63 are documented under Norman P. Chisale as the importer, while 23 vehicles lack specified importer details.
