Masambuka murder convict Muhosha dies
Beleagured Catholic priest Father Felix Muhosha, who was one of the convicts in the murder of McDonald Masambuka, a young man with albinism killed in 2018, died on Tuesday at Zomba Central Hospital.
Malawi Prison Service spokesperson Chimwemwe Shaba said Muhosha, who was sentenced to a 30-year custodial sentence on June 27 2022, was initially taken to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre last week before being referred to Zomba Central Hospital where he was expected to be taken to Zomba Mental Hospital for examination.
He said while at Chichiri Prison in Blantyre where Muhosha and 11 other convicts were serving their sentences, the priest was refusing to eat any food which made him to become weak.
Shaba said: “When he was sent to prison, he started showing troublesome attitudes like refusing to eat. Preliminary diagnosis showed that he had depression and psychosis. Sometimes he could be violent.
“Some tests were conducted to establish at least other medical conditions, but all the tests came out normal. Since he was very weak and could not speak, medical doctors tried to give him treatment to make him strong, but he died while receiving treatment in the afternoon.”
A statement issued on Tuesday and signed by Episcopal Conference of Malawi secretary general the Very Reverend Father Henry Saindi said the Catholic bishops regret Muhosha’s death.
He said Muhosha, who was convicted for transacting in human tissue, was not in full communion with the Catholic Church.
Reads the statement in part: “He was serving a prison sentence after being convicted in a case of albino killing. The Catholic Church in Malawi deeply regrets his death.
“Eternal rest grant unto Reverend Fr. Dr. Thomas Muhosha, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, through the mercy of God, rest in peace!”
During the sentencing, former High Court of Malawi Judge Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga, now a Justice of Appeal, said despite being first offenders, the convicts, including Muhosha, deserved a stiffer punishment due to the aggravating factors of the case.
She said: “The convicts were callous and heartless to the victim. They deserve a life imprisonment. Muhosha and [Chikondi] Chileka [former police officer] held positions of trust and by committing these offences, they breached that trust. The convicts should be subjected to hard labour to facilitate their rehabilitation.”
Muhosha was arrested in 2018 in connection with the murder of Masambuka.
Masambuka went missing on March 9 2018 and his body was later found buried in a garden on April 2 2018 near Makawa Village in Senior Chief Mkoowola in Machinga.
