Musician Chavura appears in court today

Hip-hop musician Mwiza Chavura will today know the fate of his bail application when Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court makes its determination.

The Court on Tuesday denied him bail on grounds that it needed more time to scrutinise submissions made by both from the State and the defence.

Chavura has been charged with producing obscene language contrary to Section 179 (1) of the Penal Code.

Arrested on Friday last week after releasing a song that promotes rape, the musician applied for bail through lawyer Nicely Msowoya who argued that the offence is minor.

“It is a misdemeanor which ought to result in a fine. Secondly, for purposes of interrogating him, the State has had much time. The investigations pending have got nothing to do with the need for him to be in custody.

“In any case, the song being talked about has had time to be scrutinised for 16 days,” he said.

But senior superintendent Cecelia Zangazanga asked the court to grant the State more time.

“We would like to proceed with our investigations, we are not done.

“The State wants 10 more days to finalise investigations. Again, the offence the accused is answering requires consent from the Director of Public Prosecution and that the State is likely to change the charges,” she argued.

Chief resident magistrate Violet Chipawo made a preliminary ruling that “considering the volume of submissions made by both parties, I need more time to scrutinise and come up with a determination”.

She adjourned the case to today.