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| National |
| Macholowe found guilty of manslaughter, armed robbery |
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by
Henry Chilobwe, 10 February 2005
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11:06:33
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A 12-member jury on Wednesday found jailbird Clive Macholowe guilty of manslaughter and armed robbery in a unanimous decision that took the jurors over two hours to reach.
The jurors said they passed the verdict of guilty on both counts after analysing the evidence that state witnesses gave to the court.
The jury found that Macholowe was not guilty of murder because he did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed police officer Fanuel but they found him guilty of manslaughter for being found in group that shot Fanuel to death, according to a spokesperson of the jurors.
Convict Joseph Mpasu, who became state witness, told the court at the beginning of the trial that he was informed by one of Macholowe’s accomplices in the armed robbery, Patrick Kamanga, that Julio shot Fanuel twice in the legs because he was stopping them from conducting the robbery.
“We have unanimously agreed that Macholowe is guilty of manslaughter and not murder. From the evidence given in court we found that he did not kill the deceased but he is guilty of manslaughter because he was found among the robbers that killed Fanuel. We also unanimously found him guilty of the armed robbery at Blantyre district education offices,” said the spokesperson.
Seemingly unsatisfied with the verdict, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Ishmail Wadi asked for permission to give aggravating factors of the case but the move spawned a hot debate between state and defence lawyers on whether Macholowe should be treated as a convict or as a first offender.
Mtambo said Macholowe is a first offender because former president Bakili Muluzi pardoned both the sentence and the conviction
But Wadi counter-argued that Macholowe remains a convict of armed robbery and escape from prison because the presidential pardon did not lift his conviction or erase his past criminal history.
“My lord, I would like to make a point in law. The President does not pardon the conviction but the sentence only. The President’s pardon does not raise the conviction and the person remains a convict even after he has been pardoned ,” said Wadi.
The state however failed to cite a documented law or a previous case that would support the proposition when the judge asked it to do so.
As the debate raged on and another state lawyer Zione Ntaba was about to state some factors to show the gravity of the offence Macholowe lost his temper and sighed.
“Miss Ntaba, isn’t this enough? How much do you want from me? My blood? You want my life? Shame, shame, shame,” said Macholowe.
Macholowe’s lawyer asked the judge to consider in his ruling the fact that Macholowe is now a reformed person because he conducts prayers at Zomba Prison Catholic Church when a priest has failed to come.
He also said Macholowe has put his life in order and was about to launch a music album at the time of his arrest, that he is now 35 years old while life expectancy has dropped to 40 years.
Mtambo further pleaded with the court to be lenient with Macholowe because he is living with HIV and Aids and that he might die in custody if he is given a long sentence in jail.
The presiding judge Chiudza Banda will sentence Macholowe on Monday.
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