Update: Former presidential aide Collins Magalasi will remain on remand following the introduction of fresh charges regarding the K3.5 billion acquisition of the Amaryllis Hotel by the Public Service Pension Trust Fund. According to Nation Online, a Lilongwe court scheduled its bail ruling on the new fraud and money laundering charges for September 11, while upholding his detention in a separate cybercrime case involving the alleged hacking of President Peter Mutharika's phone.
In legal developments, the High Court in Lilongwe has dismissed a judicial review application by senior lawyers who sought to challenge the appointment of Director of Public Prosecutions Fostino Maele. According to Nation Online, Justice Anneline Kanthambi determined that the issues raised by Senior Counsel Kamudoni Nyasulu and his team stemmed from a private contract and were not suitable for judicial review, ordering all parties to bear their own costs.
In Blantyre, suspect Sudi Adak Sulaimana has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges after police allegedly uncovered a stockpile of military gear and forged documents at Danga Lodge. Nyasa Times reports that prosecutors accuse Sulaimana of keeping 46 Malawi Defence Force uniforms, four police uniforms, two pistols, teargas grenades, and fake official stamps for various government ministries and the High Court.
A murder trial has opened at the High Court in Kasungu involving former Malawi Defence Force employee Medium Nyirongo, who is accused of killing his daughter and abandoning his son in a bush. According to Nyasa Times, the court permitted the State to amend the charge sheet to include child desertion before hearing testimonies from the suspect's mother and wife.
Meanwhile, police in Mangochi have arrested eight family members after a mob vandalised the Chilipa Police Unit and injured an officer. Nation Online reports that the violence broke out over disagreements regarding a missing 14-year-old boy, who was subsequently found alive doing piecework in Balaka.