Former President Bakili Muluzi has been dragged to court by Stanbic Bank for failure to pay K4 million owed to the bank through a loan he guaranteed to Ellen Mulamba in 2000.
Court records at the High Court civil registry in Blantyre, civil cause number 2814 of 2004 indicate that Muluzi owes the bank money amounting to about $40,000.
“The plaintiff claims against the defendant as a guarantor for the repayment of a loan made by the plaintiff to one Ellen Mulamba trading as Yesa Enterprises on or around January 2000 in respect of which loan there is an outstanding balance of K4,314,383.19 together with collection charges and interest at the prevailing Stanbic Bank base rate plus five percent and costs,” reads part of the statement of claim.
The particulars of the loan are that on January 5, 2000 the bank, then called Commercial Bank of Malawi loaned Mulamba about $14,000 and from January 5, 2000 to March 31, 2003 interest accrued to $35,000.
On May 4,2004, there was a payment of about $9,000 and Stanbic is claiming the outstanding sum of $40,000 in addition of collection charges and interest at five percent and costs for the action, according to court documents filed on September 23, 2004 by Stanbic Bank lawyers Nyirenda, Msisha & Company.
Court records show that lawyers for Muluzi, Sacranie Gow & Company have showed an intention to defend the matter. Lawyer Jai Banda from Sacranie Gow & Company said in an interview Tuesday it is not Muluzi who got the loan but only acted as a guarantor to Ellen Mulamba in 2000.
Ellen Mulamba, is wife to Peter Mulamba, who is implicated in the $26 million maize scam where Muluzi has also been mentioned. He is currently missing and reported to be on the run from Malawi Police.
“Ellen Mulamba requested Muluzi to be a guarantor of her loan and being a kind-hearted person, he accepted. When he was informed that Mulamba had failed to pay loan, he paid K1,000,000,” said Banda.
He said Muluzi is going to pay the remaining $5,000 to make it $14,000 “because that is the amount he guaranteed”.
“If any action is going to be taken after our client pays the remaining K500,000, it will be vigorously and vehemently defended by Sacranie Gow & Company,” said Banda.
All has not been well with the former president soon after leaving office in May this year. Everest Investments Limited instituted bankruptcy proceedings for failing to pay rental amounting to $82,000 before withdrawing it two weeks ago to settle out of court.
Ethertech Networks, a local network cabling company, just last week took Muluzi’s Atupele Properties to court for failing to pay almost $50,000 for work done on Muluzi’s $3 million Keza Office Park in Blantyre.
The former president is also reported to be selling some of his properties and has exchanged one of them to settle a debt......http://www.nationmalawi.com/