BY BLAIR MHONE
After delays and adjournments, the High Court in Lilongwe has on Monday started hearing an application for judicial review by former minister of Lands Kezzie Msukwa and his co- accused Ashok Nair on corruption charges.
During the preliminary hearings in court, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) requested the former minister to provide the precise time he signed the documents for a judicial review on 31st December 2021, the same day he was requested to appear before ACB offices in Lilongwe.
In his reply, Msukwa informed the court that he was not feeling well on the particular day therefore could not remember most of the things that happened.
He said he went to Discovery Clinic in Lilongwe where he was treated as an outpatient, thereafter he went to a MASM Clinic for a second opinion as he was still not feeling well.
“On my way home, I started sweating profusely, then I turned at Ufulu Gardens, turned to MASM Clinic for a second opinion. I thought I needed a drip, I was not ok. I have had BP since 1995,” Msukwa informed the court.
He also said he went back to Discovery Clinic where he was referred to Partners in Hope Medical Centre in the afternoon where he was eventually arrested by ACB investigators.
The High Court in Zomba on 1st January, 2022 set aside the arrest and detention of Kezzie Msukwa in relation to his alleged land deals on grounds that the ACB violated his rights.
Judge Zione Ntaba then granted relief to Msukwa by staying both his arrest and detention pending hearing of his leave application.
In her ruling, Judge Zione Ntaba transferred the matter to Lilongwe Registry citing good case management.
Chief Resident Magistrate Patrick Chirwa had granted the Anti-Corruption Bureau a warrant of arrest for Msukwa over his alleged involvement in a corrupt land deal with businessman Zuneth Abdul Sattar.
The hearing of the judicial review was also delayed following an application by co-accused Ashok Nair, who is a business associate to businessman Zuneith Abdul Sattar.
