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Mzuzu Magistrate’s Court has sentenced three Muslims to 20 months imprisonment with hard labour for causing injury to two Muslim Association of Malawi (Mam) leaders in protest over the arrest of al-Qaeda suspects in Blantyre last year.
The convicts are: Burton Tambala, 30 from Mbele Village T/A Kawinga in Machinga; Khoba Lajabu, 30 from Tambala Village T/A Malengachanzi in Nkhotakota and Lifa Binali, 35 from Mambo Village in Chief Makanjira’s area in Mangochi.
Passing the sentence on Wednesday Mzuzu Senior Resident Magistrate Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa said the offence was serious.
“The offence of causing bodily harm is very serious and attracts five years imprisonment and does not entertain any fines apart from a custodial sentence. However, the court is mindful of the fact that all the convicts are first offenders. But I fail to exercise leniency especially when I think that one of the victims fainted and that the other sustained deep cuts in the head.”
“With the evidence before the court I convict the three of the seven accused persons to 10 months each on the first and second counts respectively but to run concurrently. I acquit the others for luck of evidence,” said Usiwa-usiwa.
The court earlier heard that on 4 July last year seven Muslims wounded Alhaji Sheikh Abdullah Kalisinje and Sheikh Daud Abassi at the Northern Region Mam offices where the two asked Muslims to desist from violence over the arrests.
Abassi told the court that he and his colleague were beaten like ‘monkeys who have stolen maize from a garden’ for only telling them not to join into the violence Muslims were involved in Mangochi and Blantyre.
“The issue was about al Qaeda. We as leaders were having sleepless nights over the violence that was going on and we wanted to tell our vulnerable Muslim brothers not to join into the violence. But they started beating me and my colleague like monkeys,” testified Abassi.
Those acquitted are Akimu Linyama from Nkhotakota, Mdoka Anusa, John Wecha and Ajati Yunusu all from Mangochi.
The office of the DPP through prosecutor Govern Mpangaja prosecuted the case.
Meanwhile DPP Fahad Assani said on Thursday in an interview that he has given the police the go ahead to prosecute those that were arrested in Mangochi in connection with the violence in July last year over the al Qaeda issue.
“Arrests were made. I have already perused through the files and have given the police the mandate to go ahead with prosecutions of the case. The only problem is that the police officer handling the case is outside the country,” said Assani.
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