ACB, which did not disclose the amount of claims, said in a statenent Tayub was seeking damages for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, while Transglobe Produce Export Limited was seeking damages for loss of business and damage to reputation from the arrest in connection to a Zambian maize importation deal.
Madise ruled that “contrary to the submissions by the claimants, the ACB had reasonable and probable cause to arrest and prosecute the 1st claimant, the acquittal notwithstanding.
“Consequently, the defendants (Anti-Corruption Bureau and Attorney General) cannot be held liable for taking what was a legally justifiable action in the circumstances of the case”.
Tayub was arrested in July 2017 and charged with persuading a public officer to perform his functions corruptly contrary to Section 25A (2) of the Corrupt Practices Act (CPA) after he was implicated in the maize import scandal where former minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development George Chaponda was suspected to have flouted procedures when the country wanted to buy 100 000 metric tonnes of maize from Zambia.
A magistrate court in Zomba acquitted both Tayub and Chaponda. - MBC Online Services.
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