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Friday, July 12, 2013

TalkAfrika.com: Peter says govt in property grabbing

TalkAfrika.com
African News & Views
Peter says govt in property grabbing
Jul 12th 2013, 23:10, by Talk Afrika

Jul 12 • Front Page, National News • Written by : Frank Namangale and Phillip Pemba

Mutahrika: They will deceased estate

Mutahrika: They will deceased estate

Former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika's brother, Peter, has accused government of property grabbing in Bingu's deceased estate.

Peter, who described himself as the Mutharika family's patriarch following the death of his brother in April 2012, was speaking at a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ceremony in Lilongwe where he welcomed about 22 people who claimed to have defected from the ruling People's Party (PP).

He said: "They [government] want to grab property of the deceased estate. They want to grab my late brother's houses, money, estates, vehicles and many other assets. They know we are going into government because tiwanyenyanyenya [we are going to defeat them] in 2014."

Peter did not take questions after making his remarks. He said he was rushing to another meeting.

He also accused government of using police to persecute his followers.

Kunkuyu: It is not property grabbing

Kunkuyu: It is not property grabbing

But in an interview, Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu said government cannot be accused of property grabbing when legally established institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), police and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) investigate any suspicions of wrongdoing.

He said: "All matters of corruption or any indecent ways of amassing wealth, if they attract the eyes of ACB, Fiscal Police or FIU, they become an issue and should not be politicised.

"If they say this is property grabbing, to us it is not property grabbing because what is happening is not what property grabbing means."

Bingu's wealth, estimated at over K61 billion, includes money in bank accounts, estates, property and a number of vehicles belonging to Bineth Trust, Bingu Silver-Grey Foundation and the yet-to-be-established University of South Malawi.

Meanwhile, in Zomba yesterday, lawyers representing the Mutharika family missed a deadline to file with the High Court evidence in opposition on the Estate Commissioner's demand of a K5 billion estate duty cut from the deceased estate.

In June, the court gave the late Mutharika's daughters, Duwa and Tapiwa, up to July 10, which was Wednesday this week, to file the evidence in opposition contesting the K5 billion claim by government. But their lawyers failed to do so, according to court records.

The failure to comply with the court order forced lawyer representing the Estate Commissioner, Lusungu Gondwe, to file for non-compliance.

But in a dramatic turn of events, lawyers representing the Mutharika family filed the evidence in opposition yesterday afternoon, well after Gondwe had filed the application for a certificate of non-compliance.

It is now up to the discretion of the presiding High Court Judge Godfrey Mwase to make a decision.

Government, through the Estate Commissioner, has frozen all but one account in a case the State is claiming K5 billion unpaid estate duty from Mutharika's estate.

The family of the former president is challenging the claim.

Meanwhile, former first lady Callista and his stepdaughters, Duwa and Tapiwa, have asked the High Court in Zomba this week to allow them to sort out their matter out of court.

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