The High Court of Malawi yesterday sentenced Annie Mumba to 53 years imprisonment for the murder of her husband Professor Peter Mumba in April 2020.
In his hour-long judgement in Lilongwe, High Court Judge Mzonde Mvula said the sentence is with effect from September 20 2020, the date of her arrest.
Annie, 56, was found guilty of unlawfully causing the death of her husband between April 24 and 25 2020, at their home in Area 38, Lilongwe.
In court yesterday, Annie appeared unfazed as she faced the cameras outside the courtroom with a smile, laughing and declaring her innocence.
“I am not even moved. It is all lies, I never killed Peter, I never even delayed taking him to the hospital,” she said.
Dressed in an African prints traditional dress with a matching headscarf and clutching a brown handbag, Annie’s demeanor did not sit well with the family of the deceased who booed her as she was escorted to a Malawi Prison Service vehicle which sped off amidst the jeering crowd.
Mvula said the convict had a history of systematically eliminating her former husbands for their wealth.
He described the crime as a calculated robbery from the arms of academia, saying Mumba, a former Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources professor, was celebrated for his contributions to education and could have continued shaping young minds.
Said Mvula: “I don’t see why you deserve leniency when your actions are inconsistent with what a reasonable guardian or wife would do in such a situation. I find it heartless, insensitive, and uncaring for another human being who is trying to stay alive.”
As the sentence was being delivered, the convict seemed lost in thought.
The judgement indicated that Professor Mumba died shortly after entering the bedroom before midnight and that the wife deliberately delayed taking her husband to the hospital until she was certain he was dead.
In an interview after the sentencing, Mumba’s lawyer Innocent Kubwalo expressed dissatisfaction , saying preparations for an appeal in the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal were already underway.
On the other hand, State lawyer Papano Mkandawire said while they sought a life sentence for the convict, it was satisfied with the 53-year sentence, given her age.
