July 20 cops case moved to High Court
The case of nine police officers arrested following deaths which occurred on July 20 2011 during the anti-Bingu wa Mutharika administration protests has been committed to the High Court where they will face murder charges.
Four of those arrested briefly appeared before the Lilongwe chief resident magistrate Ruth Chinangwa on Thursday morning where their cases were committed to the High Court. The suspects have since been transferred to Maula Prison in Lilongwe.
In an interview on Thursday, National Police spokesperson Rhoda Manjolo said the other five arrested in Blantyre also appeared before court yesterday and had their cases committed to the High Court before they were also remanded to Chichiri Prison.
At least 20 people were killed across the country when police confronted the unarmed demonstrators using excessive force and opened fire at the protesters when they took to the streets to protest against shortages of fuel, foreign exchange and poor governance.
A commission of inquiry appointed by Mutharika, but whose results came out in July 2012 under the administration of Joyce Banda, faulted the police for the deaths and called for investigation and prosecution of those involved.
