ZAchiso zanja lero la lemba khoma!!! BLANTYRE (Maravipost)--Businessman Osward Lutepo, who is answering theft and money laundering charges, has claimed that former President Joyce Banda played conduit to the cashgate scandal and has since apologized to Malawians for his involvement in defrauding government. Lutepo, currently in hiding saying he feared for his life, also apologized to President Arthur Peter Mutharika, saying he face problems to run the country due to the cashgate scandal, system plunder of taxpayer’s money. These statements are seen by many in Malawi as self-serving in a way to gain favor with the Government and get leniency. Lutepo told Zodiak Broadcasting Station on Friday that the former President Joyce Banda played conduit to the scandal and further claimed that the Baker Tilly forensic report, which exonerated Banda was not thorough. Many observers agree that the report was shabby and as Forensic auditors Baker Tilly did not follow the money trails. For example how and where did Lutepo spend all the vast amounts of money he drew from the various bank accounts? He claimed that the siphoned taxpayer’s money was being used for political purposes of the former Malawi leader Joyce Banda and her Peoples Party (PP). They used my account as a conduit. I have been to State House several times to deliver the money. If there are CCTVs, there will prove me, said Lutepo. He also said he is ready to provide information to substantiate his claims that he was working on instruction from the former President to defraud the government. Mr Lutepo further claimed that they were also sent to destabilize Malawi Congress Party convention last year using the same cashgate money. The former President didnt want Lazarus Chakwera to win MCP Presidency, he claims. He then apologized to all Malawians for his involvement in stealing and plundering the public confer. At this point it is hard to believe Lutepo’s story. He has every incentive to implicate Joyce Banda who many in Malawi suspected had to have known what was going on in her government. However it is a big leap to believe that she directly benefited from Cashgate. It is dubious that the judge hearing Lutepo’s case has not ordered him to keep silent until the court proceedings reach their conclusions. Am sorry to all Malawians for what we did, he says, asking President Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leg government to re-start investigations on the infamous cashgate scandal that has seen donors withholding their budget support to Malawi. Lutepo, who is on record to have admitted in court that he lied under Oath, further observed that the economic challenges the country is currently facing is the result of the cashgate scam and that it will take ages for Mutharika to reverse or normalize the situation without donor aid. There was no immediate response from the globetrotting former President Joyce Banda, currently believed to be outside the country again.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 17:05:26 +0000
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