On June 27, 2025, the Chief Resident Magistrate Court sitting in Lilongwe discontinued a case in which the directors of Paramount Holdings Limited and the company were facing different charges of forgery and altering false documents to get government contracts as authorised dealers of Yamaha motorcycles in Malawi.
The Court further barred the State from pursuing the issue.
Arrested in July 2021, the three are Prakash Virji Ghedia, Arvindikumar Atiti Patel and Surej Khimji Jagatiya. The charges in the discontinued case accused the three of making false documents contrary to section 353 of the penal code as a second count.
“Prakash Virji Ghedia, Arvindikumar Atiti Patel and Surej Khimji Jagatiya and Paramount Holdings Limited on or about August 2020, being Directors of Paramount Holdings Limited in Malawi and the company itself conspired to make a false document and utter a false document showing that the company is an authorised dealer of Yamaha Motorcycles in Malawi,” reads part of the summons
The third count surrounds uttering a false document contrary to section 360 of the penal code.
Reads the third count in part: “…on or about August, 2020, being Directors of Paramount Holdings Limited in Malawi and the company itself uttered a false document to Ministry of Education, Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, UNC Project and Jphiego to win tenders for the supply of motorcycles, showing that Paramount Holdings is an authorized dealer of Yamaha Motorcycles in Malawi on behalf of Yamaha Company Limited.”
Before their arrests, Paramount Holdings Limited was monopolising the supply of Yamaha Motorcycles in the government and organisations, using the said ‘false document’.
In 2023, Attorney General Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda confirmed that criminal investigations against Paramount Holdings Limited were still on-going and if found guilty, the company would be debarred from participating in public procurement in Malawi.
This was after Capital Hill suspended Paramount Holdings Limited and other companies following serious allegations of various procurement-related crimes that the companies committed.
Chakaka-Nyirenda was also waiting for the outcome of the case to decide whether to debar the company from participating in public procurement in Malawi.
“I have been informed that the case is ready for trial. A guilty finding against Paramount Holdings Limited may also affect Paramount Holdings Limited’s eligibility to participate in public procurement.” In 2024, Chakaka Nyirenda wrote to Malawi’s Deputy Ambassador to Japan Joseph Chikwemba.
This was after Chikwemba wrote to the Attorney General inquiring about the status of Paramount Holdings Limited in Malawi because the company was still operational and still claiming that is it a sole distributor for Japanese-based Yamaha Motor Company.
“This week, local media also reported that Paramount Holdings has been appointed by Yamaha Motor Company as the only recognised distributor for the Asian giant company after a rigorous process,” reads part of the letter dated January 24, 2024.
“The mission [Malawi Embassy in Tokyo] wishes to report that Mr. Akira Sakaki of Yamaha Motor Co. LTD who is in charge of Malawi, has confirmed that neither Yamaha Motor Headquarters nor Yamaha Distributors South Africa recognises the two dealership letters possessed by Mr. Prakashu Ghedia as Yamaha’s official documents. Moreover, Yamaha distributors South Africa has no authority to appoint Yamaha dealer of Yamaha motorcycles in Malawi. Mr. Sakaki further verified Yamaha Motor has only one distributor in Malawi-Stansfield Motors Limited,” reads one of the correspondences.
However, since their arrests, the case has never seen the light of the day, as government was reluctant to prosecute it.
This forced a competitor, Hendrix Laher, director of Luthando Holdings Limited, to apply to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Masauko Chankakala to prosecute the case, which consent was granted on 8th February 2023.
Since the issue started, Luthando Holdings, owned by an indigenous Malawian, has been benefiting from Yamaha Motorcycles contracts.
Recently, the National Economic Empowerment Fund (NEEF) awarded a contract to the company to supply 100 motorcycles with a total value of K2.1 billion. Their interest in the outcome of the case was obvious.
In April last year, Chamkakala controversially discontinued prosecuting a criminal case against the directors who were answering charges of making and uttering false documents to get government contracts.
Despite the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament recommending that the case be revived, Chamkakala has instead, written a supportive sworn affidavit for Paramount Holdings Limited directors to have the case discontinued, citing the six months that have lapsed.
In his affidavit, Chamkakala said that a period in excess of six months has lapsed since the discharge and “the Republic is not recommencing this matter. Wherefore the Republic prays that the court makes the necessary orders in this regard.”
However, the magistrate court ruled in favour of Paramount Holdings Limited directors and Chamkakala.
As the lower court was handling the matter, Luthando Holdings applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the DPP’s decision not to prosecute the case after the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament recommended the revival of the matter in court.
Luthando Holdings lawyer Jefferson Luwa argued that a discontinuance can only be effectual if the parliamentary committee accepts it because the powers that Section 99 (3) of the Constitution grants to the DPP end with him justifying the decision to the committee within 10 days.
The case brought mixed reaction from the general public, with civil society organizations questioning the rationale behind its discontinuance.
Youth and Society (YAS) wrote Chimkakala demanding an update regarding the discontinued criminal proceedings against directors of Paramount Holdings Limited.
In a letter dated June 16, 2025, YAS has demanded a detailed account of the actions the DPP’s office has taken in response to the Legal Affairs Committee’s resolution.
“At this meeting, the Committee expressly rejected the discontinuance of Criminal Case Number 868 of 2023, citing insufficient justification and unresolved questions surrounding the authenticity of the dealership documents submitted by Paramount Holdings.
“The Committee’s resolution was unambiguous: the case must be reinstated within 30 working days, with the expectation that the Court, not the Executive, should determine the matter on its merits.
“As a watchdog organization committed to the rule of law, accountability, and justice, Youth and Society (YAS) is gravely concerned that, 12 months after the lapse of the 30-day period, there has been no public communication, action, or indication that your office has respected and acted upon the Committee’s resolution,” reads part of the letter signed by YAS executive director Charles Kajoloweka.
He added; “Mr. Chimkakala, the integrity and public confidence in your office rest on the transparent and principled execution of your prosecutorial duties. A failure to act on this matter, in spite of clear parliamentary oversight and direction, would constitute a dangerous precedent, undermining both the fight against corruption and the public’s trust in justice institutions.”
The discontinuous of this contentious case, means that Paramount Holdings Limited and its directors are free to bid for public Yamaha Motorcycles contracts, however, the company’s status as Malawi’s sole agent for Yamaha Motor Co. LTD remains unresolved.
On October 18, 2024, lawyer Alexious Kamangila delivered a live broadcast that sparked crucial discussions about judicial corruption in Malawi. His direct accusations against several judges and lawyers have not only unveiled serious allegations but also resonated with a public increasingly demanding accountability and reform within the legal system.
He cited delayed cases and summary judgments for cases that should have been defended as indicators of possible corruption.
