Court grants sodomy suspect bail
Mandala Mambulasa, lawyer representing the suspect, confirmed in an interview that Judge Ken Manda granted Kanthunkako bail on condition that he reports to the nearest police station every week and provide a K10 000 surety non-cash.
Kanthunkako was arrested while serving sentence at Mikuyu Prison on allegations that he was involved in sodomy with fellow inmate, 20-year-old Stephano Kalimbakatha, which is contrary to Section 153 of the Penal Code.
After the arrest, the two prisoners were given bail and continued to serve their jail sentence until December 3 2011, when Kanthunkako was released by prison authorities only to be re-arrested by the Zomba Police.
“It is true that this morning, I went to the High Court and Justice Ken Manda gave my client bail. Right now, we are still in the process of arranging the surety, so I can say, in principle, he is on bail,” said Mambulasa.
The case failed to start in May last year at the Zomba Magistrate’s Court after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Rosemary Kanyuka called for a case file for perusal and further direction on the matter.
The international community has been condemning Malawi for criminalising same sex relationships and the first couple to come in the open, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, were arrested and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment.
The two were rescued by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who visited Malawi and announced to Parliament that the former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, had pardoned the two convicts.
