Court reserves ruling on bail application for Chimwendo Banda
By Michael Martin//MALAWI
The High Court of Malawi sitting in Lilongwe has reserved its ruling on whether to grant bail to Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Secretary General Richard Chimwendo Banda.
The presiding judge in the matter is Justice Mzondi Mvula said the court will deliver its decision at a later date.
The ruling will focus on whether bail should be granted to the accused.
Richard Chimwendo Banda is facing allegations linked to an attempted murder case of Frank Chawanda.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offence took place in Dowa District in 2021.
Justice Mvula made the remarks after hearing submissions from both sides and heconfirmed that all parties were given an opportunity to present their arguments.
The judge stated that the ruling will not be delivered immediately instead, the decision will be communicated via email.
This will happen after the court has carefully reviewed all the submissions and the court will consider arguments presented by the state.
It will also assess submissions made by the defence. The defence team is being led by lawyer George Kadzipatike.
The defence argued that Chimwendo Banda deserves to be released on bail since he is a Member of Parliament.
They also cited his reported ill health as a reason for bail.
The state is being represented by prosecutor Dzikondianthu Malunda who strongly opposed the bail application.
They argued that the accused could interfere with investigations.
The state said he may tamper with prosecution evidence. As a result, the court ordered that he remains in custody for now.
Chimwendo Banda will continue to be held by the police and this will remain the case until the bail ruling is delivered.
In a related update, Justice Mvula advised the government to arrest suspects only when fully prepared.
The judge said arrests should be based on complete evidence. The court noted that the state has not formally charged Chimwendo Banda.
This is despite the fact that he was arrested on 12 December this year.
Justice Mvula criticized the practice of arresting suspects prematurely adding that this contributes to overcrowding in the country’s prisons.
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