The High Court in Malawi has sentenced a well-known Business Tycoon to 9 years in prison, after he was found guilty of trying to bribe judges in an election case.
Thomson Mpinganjira wanted to get the judges on the side of then-President Peter Mutharika, in a case the opposition challenged in a fraudulent election won by Mr Mutharika. Mpinganjira, one of the richest people in Malawi was recorded on tape offering financial inducements to one of the judges to influence the outcome.
In 2020, the court eventually ruled there were widespread irregularities and ordered a new election, leading to a new Presidency under Lazarus Chakwera. In passing the sentence, the Judge, Dorothy De Gabriele said Mpinganjira committed an offence brazenly and with impunity” at a critical time in the country’s history.
The court imposed two 9-year sentences on 2 counts, but the sentences will run concurrently.
