Government backed the new Corrupt Practices Act

By Antony Isaiah Jr

Government says amendment of Corrupt practices act will fasten prosecution of corruption cases Act of 2022.

The Parliament passed the Bill to amend the Corrupt Practices Act to allow the Anti-Corruption Bureau to prosecute cases without seeking a consent from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for the state president Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera assented it.

Speaking during Government faces the Press on Monday in Lilongwe, the minister of Justice Titus Mvalo said waiting for a consent from the Director of Public Prosecution was delaying the process of prosecuting corrupt cases saying the amendment will help to curb this challenge that the Anti-Corruption Bureau was facing previously.

“The Corrupt Practices Act 2022 allows the Anti-Corruption Bureau to prosecute cases without seeking a consent from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution. It will come into effect once gazetted anyway this week. This will help to curb the delays that the Anti-Corruption Bureau was facing as the cases will be quickly brought into courts.

“The amendment is very crucial. We all know how much complaints we have been hearing from people regarding delays in prosecution due to delay of granting consent by the DPP or refusal to grant consent.

“We are now hoping that with this amendment it will become quicker to bring cases to court by the ACB,” said Mvalo.

According to Mvalo in its quest to fight against corruption, the government has strengthener ACB prosecution capacity through recruiting 17 additional lawyers to join the Bureau’s prosecution team and also 4 private lawyers have been hired to help in the prosecution of cases and 19 investigators to boost the investigation section.