The funeral for Brian Nthara, a young man who was killed by angry mob after he robbed a bank has taken place at his home village in Edingeni Mzimba.
The country learnt with shock when news spread that Brian was a son of a rich business man James Nthara. It left many People wondering why a young man with all the money already got himself involved in armed robbery and went on to rob the bank. He had robbed Likuni FCB bank
Brian body being laid to restYoung and Rich
Brian was caught when the motorbike he was using failed to function and the mob pounced on him at Likuni Hospital. At the time ,he had already stolen K12 Million kwacha from the bank
Brian Nthara, a graduate from the Malawi University and Applied Science (MUBAS) formerly The Polytechnic.He was born in a family of James and Margaret Nthara who had 3 children ,2boys and 1girl (Brian,Thompson and Nerani).His brother (Thomson Nthara) died in 2017 in a motorbike accident .
I see many others saying the constitution must change so ACB can unilaterally commence criminal proceedings against suspects without seeking approval from the Prosecution Services aka Director of Public Prosecution, what a mistake!
Even pa England the NCA which is revered pa Malawi cannot go alone in starting up cases in courts without seeking approval from the CPS ( Crown Prosecution Service). And sometimes the CPS may so no sometimes they may say yes depending on what evidence is available at the time of scrutiny. The reason for that is to make sure that there is proper scrutiny of the evidence whether it will be possible to bring about a successful conviction or not and if not then this may be just another wastage of tax payers’ money.
Dr Steve Kayuni, Director of Public Prosecution
Imagine you are pursuing to recover 10 billion kwacha which was looted. X and Z assisted Y to loot 10 billion kwacha and they are suspected of assisting an offender. However the evidence you have so far shows Y cannot be convicted unless if X and Z become state witnesses because they will disclose all material information to recover stolen assets. As a prosecutor in an ideal world you can make a decision, do you go for all three X, Y and Z with weak evidence or you can strengthen your case by agreeing with X, and Z that they would face a lesser charge, conviction or no case to answer if they work with you to convict Y the principal suspect and recover the 10 billion kwacha. The choice is yours based on your goals. I would choose to use X and Z as state witnesses to convict Y and recover assets or act emotionally to go after all of them X, Z and Y and sadly lose the case due to lack of strategy. These things unfortunately do happen in criminal litigation.
Mind you in criminal law the threshold is not on the balance of probability but beyond reasonable doubt that someone had intention and indeed carried out that intention to commit a crime. This is not an easy threshold to reach especially in cases where the evidence has been not collated properly or the evidence is disjointed so much that the mens reus and actus reus don’t meet at all. This means the ACB must not act on emotions or hearsay or on influence by what is posted on social media but on solid evidence.
This is where I agree with my learned friend Dr Steve Kayuni that if these things are not handled correctly or tactfully they may just bring embarrassingly shame to the whole ACB for rushing through cases and ignoring other factors that may bring down the whole case to collapse. If ACB is not checked on what evidence they have by the Office of the Director Public Prosecution we may have a dangerous scenario where people are arbitrary arrested and taken to courts even where the evidence itself is so weak or not there at all and in turn the hunter becomes the hunted where the acquitted ones in turn are after the state.
Therefore before you start building unnecessary negative view of DPP Dr Kayuni ask yourself whether ACB has solid evidence to win these cases or its just another public show which will end up in embarrassing the state aka ACB in taking on cases with weak or no evidence at all. I stand with the Director of Public Prosecution here.
**Views expressed were first posted on Mzondi Lungu Facebook and remains his views and not of the publisher*
Hip hop artist Gwamba has announced a donation for K3.4 million to Pashello Charitable Trust in Chikwawa district on Friday as the artists launches his long awaited album _True Independence_ at Blantyre Sports Club this afternoon.
According to the muscian, the money was raised after selling 50 CDs of the 14-track album which features various local artists.
Gwamba has since thanked people who have so far bought the album saying the money will go a long way in assisting children who are in need.
The self proclaimed hip-hop Landlord is expected to launch the new album this afternoon and South African rapper Mthembeni Ndevu, better known by his stage name eMTee, has already arrived in the country to perform at the launch.
Other artists expected to perform during the launch include Piksy, Fredokiss, Driemo, Charisma, Chizmo Njuchi, Henry Czar,Mells, Waxy Kay, Same Cris, King Chambieco and Tremour.
This is Gwamba’s third Gospel album having previously released _Jesus is My Boss_ and _Mama Said God First._
President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has appointed a new inspector general of Police. She will replace Dr George Kainja who was recently fired from his post for his involvement in corruption activities
The statement from the government says Chakwera has appointed Merlyne Nachulu Yolamu as new Inspector General of Police
Merlyne Nachulu Yolamu-New Inspector General
Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Collen Zamba has confirmed of the development in a statement made available to faceofmalawi.
According to Zamba, the appointment is subject to confirmation by the National Assembly.
There is no signs of peace in the Opposition Democratic Progressive Party. Just a day after Regional Chairperson Charles Mchacha told Nankhumwa to get approval from the Party President Peter Mutharika before holding any rally in Blantyre- Vice President for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa has vowed to proceed with his planned mega rally at Nyambadwe ground in Blantyre slated for July 31, 2022.
Nankhumwa has since described as surprising a call by his regional governor, Charles Mchacha, for him to seek consent first from party leader Professor Peter Mutharika, before proceeding with his intentions.
“I have been a DPP vice president for the south since 2018. I have conducted several rallies across the country and I have never asked for a consent from the party president, why this call now,” questioned Nankhumwa.
Nankhumwa has on a number of occasions defiled Mutharika orders. He is largely seen by the Mutharika faithfully as working with ruling administration to frustrate the work of the opposition
