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| National |
| MP Yeremiya Chihana loses seat |
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by
Edwin Nyirongo, 16 February 2005
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16:13:17
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Member of Parliament for Mzimba North, Yeremia Chihana has lost his Parliamentary seat after Mzuzu Magistrate Court found him guilty of assault and convicted him along side four others to one and a half years imprisonment with hard labour, without option of fine.
Chihana and his fellow convicts have been jailed for wounding Patrick Kumwenda, also known as Tikatika, of Mzuzu. However, the five have been acquitted of an alleged theft charge.
The five; Chihana, Syton Nkuna, Very Shaba, Khumbo Jere and Alijah Hara were answering charges of unlawfully wounding Kumwenda who also alleged that in the assault he lost K65,000 ($602) meant for paying UDF monitors.
Mzuzu First Grade Magistrate Cuthbert Phiri said the state had proved beyond doubt that Chihana and company wounded Tikatika because before they met him he was without any wound.
Phiri said evidence before him showed that the five planned to attack the complainant for political reasons. He said a crime is a crime regardless of whether it was done during a political situation.
He said the defendants’ argument that Tikatika was involved in an accident does not hold water because it has not been proved that the accident actually took place.
“The five came to Ngulube’s house — where the complainant was — in a vehicle registration number PAR 2, committed the crime as planned and left in the same car without thinking about the condition of the complainant. This was a serious crime that needs serious punishment,” Phiri said when passing judgement.
He said much as he understood that the first accused, Nkuna, was the one who threw a stone at Kumwenda and Yeremia threw a punch all the five are collectively responsible.
Phiri cited a 1968 case of Harrison and Company vs the Republic where the presiding judge said: “If it is shown that the number of people have the same intention of wounding and that the person was killed by the blow of one person, all are guilty of murder”.
He then sentenced all the five to one and a half years IHL and said the sentence would serve as a warning to politicians and rich people.
“Some people believe that money can shield them when they have committed a crime. That’s wrong because if such a case is allowed to happen prisons would be full of poor people and the rich would continue to commit crime because their money will protect them,” he said.
Phiri refused to give a fine as demanded by the defence lawyer who said one of them [Chihana] is an MP and that all others have children to look after, saying they should have considered that before committing the crime. He also said the complainant survived by the grace of God because injuries to the head can easily cause death.
Yeremia was looking at the roof during the three and a half hours judgement. He looked shaken when he was being handcuffed and taken to prison. His lawyer refused to talk to the press.
The Malawi Electoral Commission could not be reached to comment on what the law says when an MP has been convicted. In the case of Dowa East MP Kara, the then Speaker of Parliament, Sam Mpasu said if an MP misses three consecutive sittings he automatically loses the seat.
Chihana is also answering charges of wrongfully wounding Deputy Health Minister Frank Mwenefumbo during Aford National Executive Committee meeting. He is yet to appear in court.
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