Ralph Kasambara

Last updated

Ralph Kasambara is a Malawian lawyer, who served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General since April 2012. He also served as the former Attorney General under the administration of Bingu wa Mutharika during the early part of the administration. [1] After which he became the legal representative of the then Malawian vice-president, Joyce Banda. [2] Kasambara has been a critic of the administration of Bingu wa Mutharika, being vocal about grounds for impeachment and commenting that "wants to be a dictator". [3] He was jailed in February 2012, after thugs went to his office with petrol bombs in an attempted arson plot, he called the police, together with supporters and restrained the perpetrators. [4] Instead he was arrested for kidnapping and torture of the thugs. [5] He was later released on bail, and then arrested again over the faulty bail procedures. [6]

Contents

Arrests and conviction

Prior to this incident Kasambara had been a vocal critic of President Mutharika's administration. [3] Kasambara as arrested on Monday, 14 February 2012 after a group of attempted arsonists went to his offices with petrol bombs and were subdued by him and his supporters. [3] When they called the police, the police arrested him and five others on charges of 'kidnapping' and 'torturing' the three men. [3] He was taken to jail, released on bail, re-arrested for a 'fraudulent bail process'. According to the police, the bail granted by High Court judge Godfrey Mwase was not valid on the grounds that the courts in Malawi are currently on wage strikes albeit all the paper work were processed under due process through court. [7] He was then taken to a maximum security prison. He was then transferred from prison to Mwaiwathu Hospital for a cardiac condition. [3] He was being represented by his lawyer Wapona Kita and was later released [8]

On 8 November 2013, Kasambara was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the September shooting of whistleblower Paul Mphwiyo. [9] following the Capital Hill Cashgate Scandal. He was subsequently denied bail, [10] but later released on bail [11] He would be rearrested on money laundering charges on 27 January 2014. [12]

On 21 July 2016, he was convicted by the High Court for conspiring to murder Paul Mphwiyo. On 30 August 2016, he was given a 13-year jail term for conspiracy to murder a civil servant, in a crime believed to be linked to a multi-million dollar corruption ring [13]

Career

He is a law teacher at Chancellor college, University of Malawi.[ citation needed ] He was an Attorney General under Bingu wa Mutharika's first administration. He later became the lawyer for Joyce Banda who was being sidelined by the administration of Bingu wa Mutharika. He is also the lawyer of Zambian President Michael Sata. [14] On 26 April 2012, Malawi President Joyce Banda appointed Ralph Kasambara Minister of Justice and Attorney General. On 10 October, a few days after returning from a trip to the UN, President Joyce Banda sacked her cabinet, dropping Kasambara in the new cabinet, which was announced on 15 October 2013. Kasambara was replaced by Fahad Assani [15]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Malawi</span> Political system of Malawi

Politics of Malawi takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Malawi is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. There is a cabinet of Malawi that is appointed by the President of Malawi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bingu wa Mutharika</span> President of Malawi from 2004 to 2012

Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Progressive Party (Malawi)</span> Political party in Malawi

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a political party in Malawi. The party was formed in February 2005 by Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika after a dispute with the United Democratic Front (UDF), which was led by his predecessor, Bakili Muluzi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassim Chilumpha</span> Malawian politician

Cassim Chilumpha is a Malawian politician who was Vice-President of Malawi from June 2004 to May 2009. Later, under President Joyce Banda, he was appointed as Minister of Energy and Mining in April 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Banda</span> President of Malawi from 2012 to 2014

Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawian politician and former President. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the founder and leader of the People's Party, created in 2011. An educator and grassroots women's rights activist, she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and the Vice-President of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012. She had served in various roles as a member of Parliament and as Minister of Gender and Child Welfare before she became the President of the Republic of Malawi.

Joseph Mwanyungwa was a judge on the High Court of Malawi. In 2000, he held the position of assistant chief state advocate. On 7 August 2007, Mwanyungwa's home in Blantyre was raided after he ruled against the government, in what the acting director of the anti-corruption bureau called a "normal routine operation." The event took place after he refused to vacate an injunction sought by opposition MPs Gerald Mponda and Leonard Mangulama to indefinitely adjourn parliament. The vacating had been sought by the attorney general. This followed weeks of conflict between President Bingu wa Mutharika and opposition parties over a previous court ruling allowing the speaker of the parliament to sack the 41 MPs who crossed over to Mutharika's party after being elected under the banner of other parties. The sacking of these MPs would cause the collapse of the president's minority administration and trigger large numbers of by-elections. In response, opposition parties refused to discuss the budget. In a press conference of the Democratic Progressive Party held on the seventh, Mwanyungwa and lawyer Ralph Kasambara were heavily criticized; Deputy Secretary General Francis Mphepo stated, "What Justice Manyungwa and Kasambara have done is practically the same as a coup d'état. The act of meeting at night to conspire only borders on witchcraft. These two will be held accountable for anything that might happen to this country."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Callista Chimombo</span>

Madame Callista Chapola-Chimombo is a Malawian politician and the widow of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She served as the First Lady of the Republic of Malawi from 2010 to 2012. Chimombo is a previous member of the Cabinet of Malawi as a National Coordinator of Maternal, Infant and Child Health and HIV/Nutrition/Malaria and Tuberculosis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Malawian general election</span>

General elections were held in Malawi on 19 May 2009. Incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika ran for re-election; his main opponent was John Tembo, the president of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Five other candidates also ran. The election was won by Mutharika, who was re-elected to the Presidency with around two-thirds of the vote. Mutharika's DPP also won a strong parliamentary majority.

Billy Abner Mayaya is a Malawian human rights activist, artist, poet and theologian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in Malawi</span>

The history of human rights in Malawi during recent decades is complicated, and the situation at present is in a state of dramatic, and positive, transition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Mutharika</span> President of Malawi from 2014 to 2020

Arthur Peter Mutharika is a Malawian politician and lawyer who was President of Malawi from May 2014 to June 2020. Mutharika has worked in the field of international justice, specialising in international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law. He informally served as an adviser to his older brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika, on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President's death on 5 April 2012.

Jim Jumani Johansson was a Malawian-Swedish man and allegedly the illegitimate son of the late Malawian President Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898–1997). He changed his name to Jim Jumani Immanuel Masauko Kamuzu Banda. Johansson says that it was after Banda died in 1997 that 'some government officials' told him about who his father really was. Officially, Banda died childless and unmarried. His claim and resemblance to the former dictator opened up many unanswered questions about the legacy of Banda. Johansson became a celebrity overnight in Malawi owing to his uncanny resemblance to the former president and his measures to seek legal means of proving his identity. Malawians were divided on whether he was the true heir but the public demanded a right to know as well. Focus Gwede, the head of Banda's Special Branch of Secret Police Services, came out in support of Johansson, claiming in 2010 that Banda had fathered three children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atupele Muluzi</span> Malawian politician

Atupele Muluzi is a Malawian politician, businessman and was a Member of Parliament for Machinga North East constituency from 2004 until May 27, 2019. He is also the President of the United Democratic Front and was a presidential candidate during the 2019 election. He was a running mate in the 2020 presidential elections, on a coalition ticket with incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party. Muluzi was Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining from 2014 to 2015 and the only opposition member to serve in the Mutharika administration. Subsequently, he served as Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in 2015, and then Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in 2015. He is currently Minister of Health. He is the son of the former president Bakili Muluzi.

The 2011 Malawi protests were protests aimed at winning political and economic reforms or concessions from the government of Malawi. On 20 July, Malawian organisations protested against perceived poor economic management and poor governance by President Bingu wa Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party. After the first two days of protests, 18 deaths, 98 serious injuries and 275 arrests had been reported. Further demonstrations were organised on 17 August and 21 September The first protest was later cancelled due to the intervention of a UN representative in initiating a dialogue; however, the talks broke down with more protests planned for Red Wednesday through a national vigil.

Robert Chasowa was a University of Malawi engineering student and political activist. Chasowa was the chair of a student activist group, Youth for Democracy (YFD). The YFD printed a weekly pro-democracy and anti-Bingu wa Mutharika administration newsletter called the Weekly Political Update that has circulation around the UNIMA campus. His mysterious death made international headlines but was ruled a suicide under the Bingu wa Mutharika administration. In October 2012, the results of a commission of inquiry led by President Joyce Banda's administration ruled his death as a murder.

Peter Mukhito is the former Inspector General of Police in Malawi. He comes from Chiradzulu District. He has gained notoriety for his involvement in interrogating Blessings Chinsinga which began the stand off for academic freedom in Malawi between Chinsinga and President Bingu wa Mutharika. He was also involved in the investigation in the death of Robert Chasowa. Mukhito was also the Inspector General during the 2011 Malawian national protest against President Bingu wa Mutharika, that saw 19 Malawians killed.

The 2012 Malawian constitutional crisis occurred from April 5, 2012 - April 7, 2012 after senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party-led cabinet failed to notify the public of the death of the sitting president, Bingu wa Mutharika on April 5. Instead, cabinet ministers held a series of meetings in Lilongwe, Malawi without vice-president Joyce Banda with the aim of undermining the constitution and Banda's succession to Presidency. News confirming his death had, however, quickly spread across the country through word of mouth, cellphone text messages, Malawian bloggers, Twitter, Facebook, and on listservs by the end of the day on April 5, 2012. Therefore, the failure to announce his death resulted in speculation over the real health of the president and over whether the succession procedures would be followed as outlined in the constitution. According to the constitution, the vice-president takes over but there had been no official word on a successor or communication with the vice-president. Amidst growing speculation, the Cabinet announced that the president's brother, Peter Mutharika, the foreign minister, was the new President of the party on April 6. The Cabinet only announced his death two days after his death, after which Banda became Malawi's first female President.

Raphael "Ralph" Tenthani was a freelance journalist from Malawi. Tenthani was a BBC correspondent and a columnist for The Sunday Times. He was a respected journalist in Malawi well known for his popular column, "The Muckraking". He was well known for providing political analysis on topical issues. He had been the subject of controversy for his candid reporting on political issues. He was very critical of the crackdown on journalism during the Bingu wa Mutharika administration. He was also a columnist for Associated Press, Pan African News Agency, and the Maravi Post.

Capital Hill Cashgate Scandal or "Cashgate" is a financial scandal involving looting, theft and corruption that happened at Capital Hill, the seat of Government of Malawi. The scandal was uncovered during the administration of President Joyce Banda, though it is believed to have begun prior to her taking office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Malawian general election</span>

General elections were held in Malawi on 20 May 2014. They were Malawi's first tripartite elections, the first time the president, National Assembly and local councillors were elected on the same day. The presidential election was won by opposition candidate Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, who defeated incumbent President Joyce Banda.

References

  1. ↑ "BBC News - Malawi anger at jailing of Mutharika critic Kasambara". BBC News. 16 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "malawigazette.com".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nation & World | Malawi presidential critic hospitalized | Seattle Times Newspaper".
  4. ↑ David Smith (16 February 2012). "Human rights lawyer jailed after calling on Malawi president to resign". the Guardian.
  5. ↑ David Smith. "Human rights lawyer jailed after calling on Malawi president to resign". The Guardian . Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "Amnesty International | Malawi: Former Attorney General returned to prison despite bail order".
  7. ↑ "Two top govt. officials arrested over massive government looting". AfriqueJet Actualités. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ↑ "Malawi presidential critic said to have heart ailment, hospitalized under police guard - the Washington Post". www.washingtonpost.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  9. ↑ Malawi arrests ex-justice minister over murder attempt, by Felix Mponda; at Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News; published 8 November 2013; retrieved 13 November 2013
  10. ↑ "Bail denied for kasambara: To stay another 30 days in prison". Nyasa Times. 21 November 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  11. ↑ "Ralph Kasambara out on bail". Malawi Today. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  12. ↑ Chikoko, Rex (10 October 2013). "Former Malawi Justice Minister Ralph Kasambara re-arrested - Africa". Daily Nation . Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Malawi ex-minister Kasambara jailed for conspiracy to murder". BBC. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  14. ↑ "Zambia Donates Five Million Litres of Fuel to Malawi · Global Voices". Global Voices. June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Malawi's newly appointed Justice Minister talks tough on looting - BNL Times". BNL Times.
  16. 1 2 "May I introduce to you: Ralph Kasambara". Faculty of Law, Chancellor College. University of Malawi. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.