2 female guardians found with case to answer
The Blantyre Magistrate’s Court yesterday ruled that two women accused of assaulting a nurse in the line of duty at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) have a case to answer.
The women—Esnart Selemani, 53, and her daughter, Yankho, 30—are alleged to have assaulted 26-year-old Gertrude Moffat in Ward 5A on February 17 this year after she asked them to leave due to Covid-19 restrictions.
In his ruling yesterday, Blantyre senior resident magistrate Ackia Mwanyongo said the court was satisfied that the two committed the offence based on testimonies from the witnesses the State paraded.
The magistrate said the witness testimonies, which included a narration from Moffat herself, proved elements of assault causing bodily harm, a charge which the two women are being accused of under Section 254 of the Penal Code.
However, Mwanyongo said he was not bound to give more reasons as such will be tackled in the final ruling.
He said: “A detailed analysis at this stage is not required, but I will give a bird’s eye view of the evidence tendered in court. Evidence of the prosecution proved elements that the nurse was assaulted.”
Mwanyongo cited the testimony from Moffat herself, saying she gave a very detailed explanation on what transpired on the day of her assault and a doctor’s medical report that showed she sustained some injuries.
The magistrate has given the defence seven days to submit all necessary documentation on their case.
He said he would communicate the date when hearing will start.
In an interview after the ruling, chief legal aid advocate Rodgers Mpombeza, who is representing the two women, said they will proceed to prepare their defence.
He said: “Our reaction is that we welcome the ruling and we are going forward to prepare the defence. We are also preparing to file an application which we are going to compel the attendance of prosecution witnesses.”
Mpombeza said their application on recalling prosecution witnesses is based on the fact that when they were paraded in court, the two women had no legal presentation.
In the criminal case number 204 of 2021, Esnart is the first accused while Yankho is the second accused.
As the magistrate read the ruling, Esnart, dressed in a pink blouse, orange jersey and a black mask remained calm while Yankho seemed uncomfortable. She avoided eye contact with the audience, opting to face her mother.
Mwanyongo had to ask Yankho, who was clad in a pair of blue jeans, red shirt emblazoned with the portrait of Bob Marley, a pink jersey and a blue face mask, to seat comfortably and face the court.
In contrast, the nurses, who as usual turned out in their large numbers wearing their white uniforms, were smiling and interacting with each other as the magistrate gradually read the ruling.
The two women allegedly assaulted the nurse when she enquired how they got into the ward despite Covid-19 restrictions prohibiting guardians.
It is alleged that the two women were appalled when the nurse told them to leave as their presence could put lives of both patients and guardians at risk of the pandemic.
