The High Court in Lilongwe has denied bail to Chinese national Lin Yunhua who is answering a bribery case.
Lin was arrested in 2019 on charges related to possession of protected wildlife species horns, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison but was released in 2025 in what people say was due to a pardon by former President Lazarus Chakwera.
While answering that case, Lin is alleged to have influenced prison officers to help him deliver money to the person who was hearing his case at that time with the aim of receiving a lesser sentence or having the case dismissed altogether.
Lin, who is currently on remand at Dedza Prison, had requested bail to answer the bribery case while coming from home, but the presiding judge Justice Redson Kapindu asked both sides, the State and Lin’s lawyers, on the risk that he might flee if released on bail.
Lin’s lawyer Powell Mkutabasa two weeks ago told the court to impose strict conditions, saying Lin would stay at his daughter’s house where he would not be allowed to meet people randomly.
The defence added that police should be conducting patrols where he will be staying and monitoring him whenever he wants to go out.
But in his ruling which we have seen, Kapindu said imposing such strict conditions on a person on bail is the same as house arrest and in the history of this country no court has ever given such conditions to a person released on bail.
For this reason, among other reasons, Kapindu has denied the bail application.
As a result, Lin will continue to come from Dedza Prison during the hearing of his case.
