Former Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) Chief Executive Officer Collins Magalasi is set to go back to court on May 5 to continue answering charges of abuse of office by using public money to fund the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) activities.
This comes after the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe adjourned the case yesterday after defence lawyers protested the amendment of the charge sheet.
High Court judge Patrick Chirwa, is the sitting Chief Resident Magistrate after the previous CRM Shyreen Chirwa was recently promoted to the Lilongwe Industrial Relations Court.
The former MERA CEO who is also former chief economic adviser to former president Arthur Peter Mutharika is being accused of abusing his office after he allegedly used public funds to pay K10.5 million as accommodation for DPP officials at Kanjedza Lodge, Oasis Hotel and Heritage Serendib.
Court documents show that invoices from the hotels indicated that Mera paid the K10.5 million towards the DPP convention in Blantyre between July and August 2018.
The money was allegedly released by MERA on the pretext that it would be used for conducting sensitization meetings.
According to Director of Public Prosecutions Steven Kayuni, the state is ready to parade seven witnesses in the case and only needed three days to complete giving their evidence against Magalasi.
Meanwhile Magalasi is also answering 16 counts of miss-procurement, abuse of office, money laundering, fraudulent accounting for the purchase of Mera cloth and image-building together with Patrick Maulidi, Bright Mbewe and Dorothy Shonga.
The transactions are worth about K153 million.
