‘Publicising Chasowa probe risky’

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Bruno Kalemba has said continuous publicity of the progress his office is making on the Chasowa murder case through the media may jeorpadise investigations.

Kalemba, in an interview on Wednesday, said his office has made progress on the matter and the case file has on several instances moved between his office and police, but it would be suicidal to divulge to the media details of every progress being made.

The DPP said his office would like to have a water-tight case to secure convictions, but that would not be possible if the case is rushed through for solely the public to show that his office is doing something on the matter.

Kalemba said: “If we make public that we have sent officers at such a place to collect particular information, are we not arming the people we are prosecuting? They can go and destroy that information.

“We have difficulties in releasing information on this matter. The court is not going to buy an argument that we were in a hurry [for a poorly prepared case]. It will be bad to get people acquitted because we were in a hurry.”

The DPP is on record to have said in January that his office had finished reviewing the Chasowa murder case.

Police in March continued carrying out more investigations into the murder of the fourth-year Polytechnic student Robert Chasowa, killed during the Bingu wa Mutharika administration allegedly for his involvement in political activism.

A high-powered investigative team from Malawi Police Service Headquarters in Lilongwe travelled to Blantyre and interviewed people who had already appeared before the Chasowa commission of inquiry to record further statements.

Those interviewed included Chasowa’s friend, Black Moses.

Immediately after ascending to power in line with constitutional order on April 7 2012 after the death of Mutharika, Malawi President Joyce Banda appointed the commission of inquiry which released its results late last year.

The report revealed that Chasowa, who was found lying dead at the Polytechnic campus, was killed.

The report mentioned politicians in the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and it led to their arrests before they were granted bail.