CID officers in murder case discharged

The High Court in Mzuzu has discharged three police officers who are suspected to have had a hand in the death of Edson Msiska, a student at Natural Resources College (NRC).

Msiska, who was arrested after being found with items suspected to have been stolen by his brother Ulemu, died in police custody in January 2012.

Pathologist Dr Charles Dzamalala, who conducted a post-mortem, said the deceased died due to severe assault.

Following his death, six police officers Getrude Dorothy Munkhondia, George Kamphe, Victor Nsoloma, Bertha Mthandi Chavula, Lucius Mpakeni and Joel Aubrey Kapunda were arrested but the court later acquitted Kapunda, Chavula and Munkhodya.

However, when the court sat last Tuesday to hear the defence, State lawyers were absent and did not communicate to the court or defence lawyers about their absence,  a  development that forced defence lawyer Christon Ghambi to call on High Court Judge Dingiswayo Madise to invoke section 247 (1) of the Constitution to discharge the accused.

The section reads: “When proceedings have been instituted under Section 83 and, at the time fixed for the hearing of the case or the time to which a hearing is adjourned, the complainant or the prosecutor as the case may be, is either absent or unable or unwilling to proceed with the case against the accused, the court shall, unless it considers there is good reason to adjourn the case, discharge the accused.”