Aniva slapped with 2 -year jail term, Kaliya expresses dissatisfaction
The NGO-Gender Coordination Network has expressed dissatisfaction with a two-year jail term the Nsanje Magistrates’ Court has given to the infamous Nsanje ‘hyena’ Eric Aniva saying it will not restrain the continuation of harmful cultural practices as it hasbeen taken as a minor case.
Speaking in an interview soon after the sentencing on Tuesday, board chairperson for the organisation Emma Kaliya said it could have been fair if Aniva was charged on counts of rape and defilement which could have granted him a stiffer sentence.
“Aniva confessed to have been sexually abusing women and young girls, I would love it if he was charged for defilement, I do not believe a two-year jail term will put to rest this behavior,” said Kaliya.
Principal Resident Magistrate Innocent Nebi convicted Aniva last Friday on charges of indulging in harmful cultural practices and an attempt to commit the same offence contrary to Section 5 sub-sections 1-2 of Gender Equality Act of 2013.
The Malawi Law Society secretary Khumbo Soko was not immediately available for comment on the sentence.
However, Aniva’s lawyer who was assigned by the society, Michael Goba Chipeta branded both the sentence and conviction as having a lot of errors.
“Both the conviction and the sentence has a lot of errors. On the sentencing, the Gender Equality Act of 2013 provides and option of either fine or sentence which the magistrate did not consider.
“The 104 women who were claimed to have been involved in the practice did not come in court to testify. What we were expecting was a fine or suspended sentence. We are going to appeal both the conviction and the sentence to the high court,” said Chipeta.
He repeated that the culture has been there for over 100 years while the laws against engaging in harmful practices were enacted some three years ago saying it is inhuman to give the convict a custodial sentence.
Dressed in a blue and white stripes golf shirt, Eric Aniva did not look shaken as the Magistrate pronounced the sentence.
Before delivering the sentence, Nedi said Aniva took an advantage of vulnerable women and gained money out the act.
He further said Aniva pretended to be one of the advocates against the cultural practice while he continued practicing it.
“Such culture has no basis in the current constitution. Therefore, giving you a fine or suspended sentence is a mockery to justice. As such the court has sentenced you to 24 months for the first count of engaging in harmful practices and 10 months on second count that of attempting to engage in harmful cultural practices. These sentences are supposed to be served concurrently with effect from the day you were arrested,” concluded Nebi.
45 year-old Aniva was arrested on July 25, 2016 following President Peter Mutharika’s directive. He hails from Tosina Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mbenje in Nsanje.
Aniva’s story became popular following an interview he granted the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on July 21, in which he confessed to have slept with 104 women and girls in a form of ritual cleansing. The revelations prompted Mutharika to order his arrest.
