Minister sued for dental bill
by MIKE CHIPALASA - Sunday, November 30, 2008 - 14:45:06

Deputy Minister for Women and Child Development Patricia Mwafulirwa has been dragged to court allegedly for failing to pay K300,000 for dental services she acquired from a Lilongwe clinic.

Court documents show that an official from Crossroads Dental Clinic in Lilongwe, Zizwani Masache, wants the money as being the balance payable in respect of the dental services rendered to the deputy minister.

The money is likely to go up if the matter is contested in court because Masache has asked that the balance be paid with interest based on the prevailing bank rate and legal costs of the action.

The writ of summons filed at the Lilongwe High Court on November 5, 2008 and registered under Civil Cause Number 820 of 2008, shows that the deputy minister was asked to respond within 14 days whether she would defend the case.

“We command you within 14 days after the service of this Writ on you, inclusive of the day of service, you must either satisfy the claim or return to the court the accompanying acknowledgement of service stating therein whether you intend to contest these proceedings,” reads the summons.

When contacted, Mwafulirwa on Thursday said she was not aware of the summons because she had not been served.

Asked whether the summons may have gone to her lawyers, the minister insisted there was nothing she knew about the matter hence the issue of lawyers could not arise.

However, information in our possession shows that the minister contacted Makolego and Company Law firm to handle the case on her behalf.

Masache’s lawyer, Julius Nyambo, of Creysole Derson and Associates could not be reached on the matter.

But one of the lawyers in the law firm, Fahad Assani, said the minister’s lawyer, Rodrick Makono of Makolego and Company, has asked for further particulars of the case.

Assani said Makono wants to have a detailed account of the case for him to determine whether it could be defended or settled out of court.

Makono on Thursday admitted to have asked for further details [from Mwafulirwa’s lawyers] on the matter, arguing there were some grey areas in the case.

He also said he had filed acknowledgement of the case with the intention to defend it.

According to Makono, her client is said to have paid for the dental service at the clinic through a medical facility under MASM and wondered why she had to be sued.

“What we know is that the money was paid by MASM and we are surprised when they say we should pay. This is why we want them to give us a detailed account of the case and see whether we can settle it out of court,” said Makono.

Mwafulirwa, apart from being deputy minister, is also Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Member of Parliament for Karonga South Constituency.

Being a deputy minister, Mwafulirwa carts home a gross pay of about K495,000 per month besides allowances she gets for being an MP.

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