Mcconnell African Link In Sex Scandal
Released : May 22, 2006 7:39 PM
A TOP Malawi politician linked to Jack McConnell's controversial Malawi aid mission is hiding a secret sex shame past, the Sunday Express can reveal. The Hon Davis Katsonga, Foreign Affairs Minister of the African country, was jailed for four years in Britain for blackmailing a "sex mad, mile-high club" social worker.
Even the Foreign Office is unaware the former refugee has a criminal conviction as he prepares to host one of the First Minister's key Cabinet Ministers for talks in Malawi today. International Development Minister Patricia Ferguson was due to be greeted this afternoon by Katsonga, who only spent two years behind bars and refuses to apologise for his crime.
But mystery last night surrounded whether Katsonga's meeting would still go ahead. After being confronted with his past, officials indicated they had no idea if he was still involved in the week-long programme. The bombshell will bring deep embarrassment to Mr McConnell's efforts to help the stricken African nation twinned with Scotland, following months of criticism from MSPs.
Speaking last night from Blantyre, Malawi, Katsonga - who has been catapulted into the upper ranks of his government since his release from prison - insisted he was "a victim" of British justice.
He said: "Sometimes when you are not in your own country there are some unfortunate things you have to deal with. It was very unfortunate and I did not enjoy it.
"I know what I did, and what I did not do. My only regret is that I did not think I deserved it.
"In the British justice system, there is indeed justice. But there are also rotten apples. I was a victim."
He added: "The mark of any human being is being able to overcome adversity. If you let that get you down, you may as well be dead." Katsonga, 50, was jailed in March, 1992 after being found guilty of bribing and blackmailing social worker Janet Cadwallader, 46, when their illicit relationship ended.
The pair had met in London when his two children were taken into foster care. Mrs Cadwallader, a married woman, was said to be "entranced and enchanted" by him but was suspended from her job with Exeter County Council when bosses learned of the affair.
During his trial at Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court, it emerged Katsonga - who was described as a "political refugee" - had demanded GBP2,000 from his lover to stop him telling council officials about their liaisons.
The court heard Mrs Cadwallader, a mother of two, bragged she had picked up the African on a flight and had sex with him in the toilet. She was described as a "sex mad, milehigh club" social worker after boasting of sexual encounters in car parks.
Katsonga, who claimed to earn GBP135,000 as an exporter, said their affair was over by the time he invited her to Zimbabwe for a holiday. He told her to pose as a business colleague because he was already engaged.
He told the court she forced herself on him during the 17-day trip, and admitted they had sex twice.
Giving evidence, he also claimed she asked him to deny their affair so she could keep her GBP20,000-a-year job, even though she had told friends intimate details about the relationship, including claims he was no good in bed. Katsonga was trapped when the woman was wired with a tape player during the first cash pick-up. He claimed he demanded the GBP2,000 to deliberately set her up in an attempt to show her superiors she was bribing him.
He told the court: "We had sex mostly in my car. . . and only once did she come to my place.
"She started the affair. It was not something I was looking to do. She was in a position of influence over my children and I was not taking a chance. I had one last chance to experience a relationship before getting married and had already had the joys of fatherhood."
He added: "I was not happy with the relationship although it was a bit too late to stop."
However, he was found guilty of blackmail and was sentenced to four years imprisonment. The HM Prisons Service in England yesterday confirmed Katsonga was released on his first parole date, in July 1993, having also spent almost a year in custody before his trial.
After his release, Katsonga studied a Diploma in Marketing at the Chartered Institute of Marketing in London, graduating in 1995, before returning to Malawi four years later and entering government. The Foreign Office told the Sunday Express yesterday it has "no record" of the Minister's prison sentence, but the crime is well known in Malawi political circles. One senior media source said: "We all know about it but it has been very difficult to publish it.
He has never spoken about it in this country, and, while we journalists know about the incident, we fear the repercussions of writing about it."
Currently Member of Parliament for Mwanza Central Constituency, Katsonga was re-elected to the Malawi National Assembly in 2004 and served as Minister of Mines, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs before taking up his new portfolio in Foreign Affairs.
Last year, he was expelled from his party after accusing the Government of being behind power failures which paralysed the country when ministers insisted lightning strikes were to blame.
In 2000, he was forced to admit to a "financial hiccup" which forced Malawi to close four embassies.
Independent MSP Dennis Canavan, a member of Holyrood's European and External Relations Committee, last night said questions should now be asked of Katsonga. He added: "This man sounds unfit to hold office. I would hope Patricia Ferguson will take the opportunity to remind the Malawi Government of the high standards demanded of public conduct."
But Mr Canavan, who has already expressed worries over Malawi's relationship with the neighbouring Zimbabwe regime, added: "While the Malawi government is already under a shadow it is important not to confuse them with the people of the country who are suffering."
Officials at the Scottish Executive last night said they were "unaware" of the Minister's conviction.
A spokeswoman, currently in Malawi, said: "The partnership is between the people of Scotland and Malawi. It is only through development and partnership that we will be able to help ensure better democratic government in Malawi and build a better future for one of the poorest countries in the world."
