Why graft cases stall

Description

Experts have said hasty arrests before investigations are concluded  contribute to delays by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to bring graft cases for trial.

Out of the 60 Cashgate-related cases in 2014, at least 40 never made it to the trial stage five years after arrests, according to a 2021 Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Project report titled ‘Law Enforcement and High-Level Corruption in Malawi: Learning from Effective Law Enforcement’.

Of those that proceeded to trial stage, only 13 were concluded by 2019, according to the report authored by University of Edinburgh’s Gerhard Anders, whose work was supported by Britain’s UKAid.

To reduce delays, the Anders report recommends a review of the Criminal Procedures and Evidence Code to be initiated by the Ministry of Justice, drawing on input from stakeholders such as the Police, ACB, Director of Public Prosecutions, Ombudsman, Malawi Human Rights Commission and Malawi Law Commission in close collaboration with the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament to ensure that any amendments constitute actual improvements and strike a balance between human rights concerns and effective rule of law.

“Further, the length of time between first arrest and actual commencement of the trial should be reduced by concluding investigations prior to arrest,” says the report.