British murder suspect testifies in wife’s case

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riton Mohamed Shahid Iqbal Juma, who is suspected of killing his wife in 2018 in Lilongwe, has told the High Court of Malawi that he learnt about the murder while in Salima.

In his testimony, the suspect said he left his wife, Zaheera Jabbar Akbanie, 35, a mother of three, for Salima on December 19 2018 around 9.15pm.

Narrating his account of events on the day before the murder, Juma said he spent at least two hours with her at their Area 9 residence in Lilongwe and that they were intimate. He said Akbanie served him a cup of tea.

He added that before leaving, he saw that a burglar bar on the kitchen door was broken. However, he did not give details.

Yesterday afternoon, at the request of the defence team, the court moved to the crime scene to appreciate the environment.

Presiding Judge Bruno Kalemba alongside defence and State lawyers were taken around the house, including the bedroom, the lounge and kitchen as well as to the backdoor with the burglar bar.

Said Juma: “We spent some time in the bedroom, sorting clothes and later we were intimate. We then sat at the lounge where she served me a cup of tea.”

He also said the household’s maid was around and she left before he started off for Salima. He said his wife locked the front door on both occasions.

Juma said he spent a night in Salima where  he was met by one of his uncles.

He also told the court that he tried to call his wife in the morning, but the phone was out of reach and that he called one of the workers who told him that his wife’s shop was open for the day’s business.

The defence also tendered call logs as evidence that the suspect exchanged phone calls with his brother-in-law, father-in-law, an uncle and others on the day his wife was discovered dead.

Juma said: “I only received a call that I needed to come to Lilongwe quickly. I travelled back to Lilongwe with my uncle and that is the time I exchanged several calls with my brother-in-law and others.”

Today, the State is expected to start cross-examining the suspect and thereafter another witness will be paraded.

In the past four years, the suspect has applied for bail for at least four times, but he was denied.

During one bail hearing in 2022, the suspect was quizzed on how he obtained a British passport while on remand.