Court defers bail ruling for FMB robbery murder suspects
The High Court in Blantyre on Tuesday deferred bail ruling to November 12 2015 for two suspects in the murder case of police officer Patrick Mvula.
Mvula was shot dead in December last year during an armed robbery of about K100 million ($178,571) at First Merchant Bank (FMB).
The two suspects, Thomson Kamwendo, 30, from from Traditional Authority (T/A) Nsamala in Balaka and Abel Chigwadala, 35, from T/A Kalolo in Lilongwe applied for bail at the High Court in Blantyre. They have been on remand at Chichiri Prison in Blantyre since July this year.
Senior State advocate Andrew Salamba objected the bail application on grounds that the two are flight risks and they might interfere with the case.
Salamba also told the court that Chigwadala has got two places of residence which might be difficult to trace whereas Kamwendo was dishonest with evidence.
But lawyer for Chigwadala, Michael Chipeta, said his client is only an accused person whose period of trial is not known while lawyer for Kamwendo, Zwelithini Chipembere said his client needed to be granted bail because he was not a flight risk.
High Court judge Dorothy Nyakaunda-Kamanga will make a ruling later this month. n
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail (and possibly be brought up on charges of the crime of failure to appear).
In some cases, bail money may be returned at the end of the trial, if
all court appearances are made, regardless of whether the person is
found guilty or not guilty of the crime accused. If a bondsman is used and a surety bond has been obtained, the fee for that bond is the fee for the insurance policy purchased and is not refundable.
In some countries, granting bail is common. Even in such countries,
however, bail may not be offered by some courts under some
circumstances; for instance, if the accused is considered likely not to
appear for trial regardless of bail. Legislatures may also set out certain crimes to be not bailable, such as those that carry the penalty of capital punishment.
Even for lesser crimes, bail will not be granted if it is deemed likely
that the accused will flee, tamper with evidence, or commit the same
offense before trial.
I propose that for such a country with porous borders as Malawi, bail should not be granted on murder suspects.