The Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal has granted bail to convicted widow Anne Mumba pending the determination of her appeal against the conviction for the murder of her husband, Professor Peter Mumba.
On October 31 2024, the High Court of Malawi sentenced Mumba to 53 years imprisonment for the murder committed in 2020.
On November 22 the same year, through her lawyers, she lodged an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the conviction. She subsequently applied for bail pending appeal at the High Court.
However, according to a ruling by Justice of Appeal Sylvester Kalembera dated January 13 2026, the High Court dismissed her application, prompting her to seek a stay of sentence and bail at the Supreme Court, which was granted on Tuesday.
In her appeal, Mumba argued that although the court found that her husband died from poisoning, there was no evidence proving that she administered the poison. She also contended that the nature of the poison was never identified.
But the State through the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions argued that the bail appeal be dismissed, saying Mumba was lawfully convicted and sentenced after a full and fair trial which meant she lost the presumption of innocence.
Mumba, 56, who was arrested in August 2020 before being released on bail, was found guilty of unlawfully causing the death of her husband between April 24 and 25 2020 at their home in Area 38, Lilongwe.
