SLAA Mwale and AD Ndeketa (in suit) pose with the clients
The Senior Resident Magistrate Court sitting at Mulunguzi in Zomba has acquitted two men, Stand Alifi and Yusuf John, as the State has failed to establish a case linking the two to allegations of unlawful possession and trafficking of forest produce.
The accused were arrested on 12 February 2025 while transporting wood to Limbe for commercial purposes. Their consignment and 10-tonne lorry were confiscated by the Department of Forestry on suspicion that they were operating under forged documentation.
The two were charged with being found in possession of forest produce without a permit contrary to Section 68(1)(b) of the Forests Act and trafficking of forest produce contrary to Section 68(1)(c) of the same Act.
Alifi and John were later released on bail, and they applied for legal aid. When granted, they were represented in Court by Assistant Director Zaheed Ndeketa, Senior Legal Aid Advocate Louis Mwale, with assistance from Legal Aid Officer Miriam Kaunda.
Counsel from the Bureau first filed a separate application for the release of the lorry, which the Court granted ahead of the main hearing.
During the trial, the State paraded six witnesses to prove that the accused persons were in the wrong. The State’s arguments centered on the view that the permit the accused were using was forged and had expired.
They further argued that the wood was also being transported illegally.
One of the central points of contention was a Government Receipt (GR) allegedly used to process the wood.
The defense challenged the forgery claim, asserting that Alifi and John do not issue GRs, and that if any forgery had occurred, it would have involved officials within the Forestry Department, not the accused.
The defense also submitted before the Court that the wood had been legally acquired and that the clients had complied with all procedural requirements, including securing the necessary documentation for transport.
The Court found the two with no case to answer according to the evidence before it. The Court agreed with the defense that forgery of documents did not occur, and the wood was transported legally. The permit expired while the two were transporting the wood, as they faced a breakdown at Naisi on their way to their destination.
In addition to the acquittal, the Court has further directed the Department of Forestry to renew the permit for the accused to continue transporting the wood legally.
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