The Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Mulanje has ordered a 55-year-old Luciano Green to pay a fine of K700,000 or in default serve 3-years imprisonment with hard labour for being found in possession of cannabis sativa ( Chamba) without a licence.
State prosecutor Sub Inspector Gradstone Kanyezi told the court on Wednesday that, the convict was arrested on February 16, 2023, after being found with two bags, 30 plastic bags and 76 twists of cannabis sativa without a licence at Mambulu Village from Senior Chief Mabuka in the district.
In mitigation, the convict asked for leniency saying he is a first-time offender and a breadwinner for his family.
However, in his submission, prosecutor Kanyezi pleaded with the court to mete out a stiffer sentence saying the offence committed is serious in nature.
The convict hails from Mambulu Village in the area of Senior Chief Mabuka in Mulanje.
The Senior Resident Magistrate Court in Lilongwe on Wednesday acquitted a 33-year-old Chiponda Kalawa after finding him not guilty of the offense of defilement.
Kalawa was arrested on 07 October 2021 in Lilongwe on suspicion that he defiled a 16-year-old girl.
Upon his arrest, it was alleged that the accused, who is a police officer, went to the house of the victim, as she was staying with her mother, and forced himself on her.
According to state witnesses who were paraded, the accused went to the house after being sent by the girl’s father to facilitate the collection of the girl’s clothes from a man called Allan, who is said to have gotten possession of them.
Chiponda Kalawa and legal representative Chikondi Kambuwa
While at the house, it is alleged that Kalawa took the girl into her bedroom for questioning, and while there, he had sex with her.
The accused denied the allegations and after all state witnesses were paraded, he was found with a case to answer. At that time, Kalawa sought legal representation from Legal Aid Bureau, and the matter was taken up by Senior Legal Aid Advocates Clive Chiudzu and Chikondi Kambuwa.
In defense, Chiponda Kalawa maintained his stand that he was not guilty of the said offense leveled against him.
He explained to the court that the girl’s father called him to his house saying his young daughter was married and he should assist in bringing her back home.
He said he did not defile the girl and he only did what his friend (the girl’s father) asked him to do.
After hearing from both sides, His Worship Senior Resident Magistrate Wanangwa Nyirenda ruled that a medical report brought by the state was not conclusive.
The report proved penetration, but the girl had sexual partners and hence could not clearly point out that the accused was responsible for the said sexual encounter.
Further evidence from one of the state witnesses was that the girl has never had sex with anyone, but the medical report proved otherwise.
The credibility of evidence from the state was therefore not believable and the court further found that evidence from the police was inconsistent.
The court, therefore, acquitted Kalawa. After staying in custody since 2021, he is now a free man.
Minister of Local Government, Culture, and Unity Honourable Richard Chimwendo Banda has urged police officers who are deployed to do patrols in various places of the country’s cities to stop demanding huge amount of allowances.
Speaking at the Blantyre City Council Summit held on Wednesday at Mount Soche Hotel in the commercial city of Blantyre, Banda said the police officers should not demand such huge amount of allowances for patrols as this is their duty as police officers to make sure that the security is always tight everywhere in the country.
Said Banda:”This is your duty as police officers to make sure that security is always tight everywhere. So why demanding huge allowances when assigned to do patrols in our cities
The Minister said the act is also costing the councils a lot of money which could have been used for other important projects such as city roads construction among others.
He said for instance, other city councils are spending K20 million a month to settle the allowances.
” I don’t say demanding allowances is not that good but at least the amount should be minimal. Why demanding K20,000 or K30,000 for patrols a day. Through this we are losing a lot of money.
” I feel like K5,000 or something below K10,000 is enough for allowance. These allowances are meant for food ( lunch allowances) so why up to K20,000. Let’s think twice on this if we are to develop our cities, ” said the Minister.
The Blantyre City Summit was firt ever summit which brought in together delegates from various corporate institutions discussing matters that will lead to the council becoming livable, safe, and vibrant.
Precisely, the focus of the City Summit initiative was on waste management, urban security, and street vending among others.
Its concept is a brainchild of the former Minister for Local Government, Culture and Unity Honourable Blessings Chinsinga.
Similar Summit will also be held in Lilongwe, Zomba, and Mzuzu cities within a few weeks to come.
Once again, Kondwani Nankhumwa, blew away an opportunity to position himself as the capable Leader of Opposition.
Not only is Nankhumwa haunted by stories of questionable academic credentials, he is also widely regarded as the worst Leader of Opposition ever in the Malawi’s history.
Time and again he has been presented with opportunities to shrug off that perception but he sadly keeps on squandering them with caress abandon.
Such was the tale on Monday during the delivery of his response to the 50th State of the Nation Address delivered by President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Friday last week.
When he took the floor Nankhumwa did not only fail to provide checks and balances to government as required of him as a Leader of Opposition, he also exposed his shallow understanding of complex details contained in the SONA.
Talking about him being widely regarded as the worst Leader of Opposition, it also occurs to many as they asked how on earth did he end up being on that important position of all people in the opposition bloc.
But again, Malawians are reminded that Nankhumwa imposed himself and he does not even have the blessings of his party’s central executive committee.
Otherwise, all things being equal, despite the DPP being a party with so many questionable characters, there are still some people better suited for the position who could have made better Leaders of Opposition.
And Leader of the House, Richard Chimwendo Banda, may have sounded brutal in his assessment of Nankhumwa’s response but he could not have said it better.
Speaking to the media afterwards Chimwendo pointed out that Nankhumwa’s response was devoid of substance and he failed to provide solutions to issues he talked about in his response.
‘’He [Honourable Leader of Opposition] actually said nothing. On the alleged persecution of the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, he was invited to appear before the Commission to present his side of a story but he did not go,’’ said Chimwendo in reacting to the accusation Nankhumwa leveled on President Chakwera that he was not aware of Chizuma’s arrest beforehand.
This is exactly what Nankhumwa said: ‘’The President said he did not know anything about Chizuma’s arrest on December on 6th December 2022. He quickly set up a Commission of Inquiry to establish circumstances surrounding the arrest, including who actually ordered it”
Now here are some of the things which put Nankhumwa’s integrity into question. While President Chakwera was honest enough to say he had no knowledge of the arrest, Nankhumwa informed Parliament on 6th December that he was aware of Chizuma’s arrest yet when the Commission summoned him he failed to show up, not only once but twice.
That’s according to the Commission of Inquiry’s report.
It reads: “The Commission of Inquiry sent summons to the Honourable Speaker requiring the Presence of Honourable Kondwani Nankumwa MP, Leader of Opposition on 23rd December, 2022. Honourable Nankhumwa MP did not appear on that date or 28th December 2022. He did not appear on that date too on the ground that he was attending the funeral of Late Mr. Alex Nampota (former ACB Director General). Mr. Nampota was laid to rest on 27th December 2022 a day before Hon Nankhumwa was supposed to appear before the Commission’’
We can say so many things about Nankhumwa, but one did we expect a man of questionable academic credentials to be truthful?
In any case, even as we are writing this we are not sure whether he is really Kondwani Nankhumwa or the imposter we are told he is.
Is he Kondwani Nankhumwa or George Malemia. Surely, Malawians don’t expect much from a much with such credentials.
Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) member of Parliament for Mzimba North Constituency, Yeremiah Chihana, risks being disowned by his people over his recent proposal that former President Peter Mutharika should stand in the 2025 elections.
Chihana – viewed as a troublemaker by his constituents – announced in the National Assembly on Monday afternoon that he was ready to endorse Mutharika as 2025 presidential candidate of the people, suggesting that President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has failed to deliver; hence, the need for Mutharika return.
Chihana
Ironically, the Mzimba North lawmaker has been pressing President Chakwera to appoint him as a minister, even if it means being a three-month minister.
Hence, his endorsement for Mutharika could be seen as a sign of desperation for Chihana whose term of office in the National Assembly has been riddled by controversy after controversy. It could also mean that the lawmaker is making calculated move to secure the support of the former governing DPP in the next elections.
Soon after making the announcement about his love for APM, his constituents pooled onto the social media where they rebuked him. They vowed to disown him if he continues advancing APM candidature for 2025.
“Whose opinion is he expressing? Is he speaking on our behalf or his own greedy interests?” asked one of the constituents on Mzimba North Development Forum where Chihana is a member.
The constituents vowed that they would give him a boot in 2025, stressing that ‘Chihana has demonstrated lack of maturity’.
Meanwhile, DPP National Governing Council member Ken Msonda has warned Chihana against ‘poking his nose’ into the affairs of the party.
“How do you talk about another party’s presidential candidate and yet you have your own party president also aspiring for presidency? Do you mean you don’t trust your own party president?” asked Msonda.
“Kusokonekeratu uku! Akuyetsa DPP ingawatenge to be DPP VP North. Takwanako ku DPP vying for position of DPP VP North. Besides, ku DPP sitifunanso kupatsa chipani alendo. Tinapatsa chipani mlendo, anatichotsetsa m’boma pano tili pa shamba tikumva kutentha ku opposition chifukwa cha mlendo. Truth pains, but it sets me free and it’s in my DNA,” concluded Msonda.
