Principal Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe on Tuesday denied a Baptist Church clergy Reverend Emmanuel Chinkwita-Phiri and two others bail.
On Friday last week, Fiscal Police arrested Businessman Taulayi Kamwetsa and on Monday this week nabbed Rev Chinkwita-Phiri and Wisted Chipangula in relation to a dubious K50 million bank loan.
In an interview with The Atlas Malawi, National Police Spokesperson, Peter Kalaya said in 2022, Kamwetsa who runs private schools in Lilongwe entered into a lease agreement with Falls Baptist Church to run Falls Morden Private School for a period of five years.
“After the lease agreement was entered, Kamwetsa obtained a K50 million loan from National Bank of Malawi using Church documents which were fraudulently acquired. Among others, he used fake Church Board meeting minutes and signatures to support the application,” he said
On the other hand, Kalaya said Rev Chinkwita-Phiri and Chipangula authored a letter authorizing Church assets as guarantors to the loan without the blessings of the Board.
“Acting on the Church’s complaint, investigations were carried out and the three were arrested. On Tuesday, they were formally charged of three counts namely; making of false documents, altering of false documents and fraud other than pretense,” he said
They denied the charges.
Kalaya said magistrate Michongwe gave the State four days to finish investigations, out of the seven days that the seven that were asked, before he make a ruling on bail the bail application.
“The State feared that the three will interfere with witnesses as most of them are Church members,” said Kalaya.
The three will appear before court next week Tuesday.
Rev. Emmanuel Chinkwita-Phiri was a Commissioner with the Malawi Electoral Commission (2003-2007). He also chaired the Public Affairs Committee an organization that championed for change to multiparty politics in Malawi (1992-94).
He was also Malawi Ambassador to Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho (1994-96); to Zambia and the DRC (1996-99). .
