Former Malawi Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha and former Central Bank Governor Dalitso Kabambe have been granted bail.
The two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) senior members were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday and the state wanted the two to remain in police custody for seven days more saying investigations had not been finalised and the suspects would interfere with the probe.
But Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Florence Msekandiana has ruled today that claims by the state lacked substance. She added that the Director of Public Prosecutions had not provided satisfactory arguments on how the suspects will tamper with witnesses and documents.
Senior Magistrate Msekandiana then granted bail to Mwanamvekha and Kabambe. She ordered the two surrender their travel documents and produce bail bonds of K5 million each.
Mwanamvekha served as Finance Minister in the DPP administration between 2019 and 2020, during which Kabambe was also Reserve Bank Governor.
Yesterday, the suspects pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of office and false accounting.
The state accuses the two of procuring and masterminding the falsification of Gross Liability and Net Reserve Base Returns with intent to make the International Monetary Fund believe that the Government of Malawi was meeting conditions connected to the extended credit facility.
