Private practice lawyer Alexious Kamangila says he will challenge the eight-year custodial sentence handed to Mussa John, 18, for illegal possession of Indian hemp weighing 134 kilogrammes (kg).
Mussa was arrested last Wednesday and sentenced on Friday for the offence that contrives Regulation 4(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Regulations as read with Section 19(1) of Dangerous Drugs Act.
Limbe senior resident magistrate Byson Masonga said he passed the sentence to deter would-be offenders.
The sentence has stirred public outrage with some Malawians describing it as excessive.
But through his Facebook page on Sunday, Kamangila said the police and judicial officers need to start being held accountable for their role in perpetrating injustice.
He said: “The case of Mussa is huge than we all thought, yet it’s not an isolated incident. These are common stories you hear when you are working in the system day in, day out. I am at pains at how the system can pounce on a young boy like Mussa in such a manner.”
In the course of their reactions, some Malawians have also drawn comparisons with the sentence handed to Castel Malawi managing director Herve Milhade who was found guilty of cultivating marijuana at his residence in Blantyre and was fined K1 million or in default to serve 12 months in jail. There are also similar cases where convicts were handed two-year sentences with options of K2 million fines.
Kamangila said Mussa is a minor contrary to earlier reports of his age.
He said: “I met Mussa on Sunday and I was in shock at how young he looked only to be vindicated that he is actually 17 and not 19 as earlier reported. And so, all this story of the hemp not even being his didn’t surprise me.”
University of Malawi Criminal Justice Legal Clinic president Mukeya Chirwa said the clinic, which advocates for a fair criminal justice system, will join Mussa’s case as an interested party to pursue justice.
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