The Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe recently delivered a landmark ruling, acquitting all directors of Paramount Holdings Limited and the company itself of criminal charges related to an alleged procurement scandal.
The court’s ruling also went further to bar the state from bringing similar charges against the accused in the future, effectively bringing the high-profile case to a decisive legal conclusion.
The directors — Prakash Virji Ghedia, Arvindkumar Atit Patel, and Suresh Khimji Jagatiya — were facing three main charges, including conspiracy to commit a felony and the alleged use of forged documents to secure a motorcycle supply tender linked to the government.
According to court documents in Criminal Case No. 868 of 2023, Paramount Holdings Limited was similarly cleared of all wrongdoing regarding the allegations.
The allegations were first triggered in 2021 by a complaint from Hendrix Laher, director of rival firm Luthando Holdings Limited, who claimed that Paramount used a fraudulent Yamaha dealership certificate to win a 2020 tender.
The contested tender, issued by JHPIEGO, a prominent international NGO, was for the supply of Yamaha motorcycles to multiple public institutions in Malawi, including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Local Government, and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences.
Paramount Holdings won the tender on July 7, 2020, edging out Luthando and other competitors — a development that ignited suspicions and eventually led to the courtroom.
However, the prosecution’s case began to unravel due to repeated no-shows by the complainant, Hendrix Laher, whose failure to attend proceedings weakened the credibility and evidentiary weight of the allegations.
Under two successive Directors of Public Prosecutions — first Dr. Steven Kayuni and later Masauko Edwin Chamkakala — the state eventually discontinued the matter through a certificate issued on March 19, 2024.
This statutory discontinuation required a six-month waiting period, after which the court officially acquitted the accused and issued a bar against any further prosecution on the same grounds.
As a result of this ruling, Paramount Holdings now enjoys full legal clearance and maintains its eligibility to participate in public and donor-funded tenders across Malawi.
In a key endorsement of the company’s legitimacy, Yamaha Motor Corporation Japan in 2022 confirmed Paramount Holdings as the sole authorised distributor of Yamaha motorcycles in Malawi — a point that strongly reinforced the defence’s position.
Lawyers for Paramount, namely Marshal Chilenga and Gift Katundu, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, calling it a triumph of justice and a restoration of their clients’ business rights.
Chilenga further highlighted that the barring of future prosecution removes any lingering cloud of legal uncertainty that might have hampered Paramount’s operations or reputation.
Yet, the broader controversy is far from over.
In a related civil case, Luthando Holdings and other local businesses are contesting Yamaha Japan’s exclusive dealership agreement with Paramount, arguing that it limits competitive access to government tenders.
Notably, these companies are reported to have submitted tender bids using documents from Yamaha agents based in South Africa — a move that raises complex questions about legal procurement practices and international business representation under Malawian law.
This acquittal reignites debate over Malawi’s tendering processes, regulatory oversight, and the intersection between business rivalry and legal accountability.
While the court has spoken, the case has left behind unresolved issues about how business disputes are escalated to criminal prosecutions, and whether the system can withstand pressure from economic interests.
Ultimately, the ruling offers closure for Paramount Holdings but opens a wider conversation about legal integrity, fair competition, and the safeguarding of public procurement processes in Malawi’s democratic and economic framework.
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