Extradite Chanthunya, SA court rules

A South African court in Rustenburg on Monday ruled in favour of the extradition of fugitive Misozi Chanthunya who is suspected to have murdered his Zimbabwean girlfriend Linda Gasa in September 2010.

In an interview on Monday, Ministry of Justice spokesperson Apoche Itimu confirmed the outcome of the case, but said Chanthunya has since appealed against the ruling.

“At the moment, the grounds of the appeal have not yet been communicated to us,” she said.

Chanthunya was arrested on January 23 this year by the International Police (Interpol) in Rustenburg, South Africa where he had been hiding after being on the run for more than one year.

The late Gasa was found entombed under concrete at the Chanthunyas’ private cottage in Monkey Bay, Mangochi.

After the arrest, the Malawi Government asked South African authorities to have the suspect repatriated to Malawi, but the issue ended up in court, especially considering that Malawi still maintains the death penalty in its laws.

Itimu said during the hearing of the case, Malawi had two representatives, but her case was presented by South Africa’s Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) chambers.