Judge Usiwa-usiwa dies in road accident
High Court judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-usiwa died in a road accident in Lilongwe yesterday, the Judiciary has confirmed.
High Court of Malawi and Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal registrar Jack N’riva said in an interview Usiwa-usiwa died at around 3pm at Kamuzu Central Hospital where he was rushed to after the accident.
But N’riva could not give more details about the accident, saying he was out of office at the time of the interview.
of the accident yesterday
However, pictures and reports on the social media indicated that the accident occurred along the Lilongwe West By-pass Road. The pictures showed the Toyota Prado TX, registration JUD 101, in a garden after apparently overturning.
Usiwa-usiwa becomes the second of the recently appointed judges to die.
His appointment by President Peter Mutharika on December 15 followed that of four new High Court judges on October 13—Joseph Chigona, Ruth Chinangwa, Dorothy de Grabrielle and George Bakuwa.
However, Bakuwa died barely two weeks after taking oath of office.
Usiwa-usiwa’s appointment brought the total number of High Court judges to 26.
Following his appointment as judge, Usiwa-usiwa was serving at the Blantyre Registry, but was set to move to the Mzuzu Registry of the High Court of Malawi.
The former chief resident magistrate at the Blantyre Magistrate’s Court also served as deputy registrar of the High Court.
In May 2010, Usiwa-usiwa made headlines when he sentenced Malawi’s first publicly-known gay couple of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga to 14 years imprisonment for gross indecency and unnatural acts.
Before joining the Judiciary, Usiwa-usiwa worked as a secondary school teacher and a journalist.
He had a Bachelor of Education and a law degree both from Chancellor College, a constituent college of the University of Malawi. He recently completed his Master’s Degree in Law at the Chancellor College.
Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula yesterday described the late Usiwa-usiwa as a humble, intelligent, dedicated and peace loving son of Malawi who devoted his life to promoting justice in the country.
He said: “We will miss him greatly. We laughed with him. He used to give us advice and I believe not only the Judiciary will miss him, but the nation at large.”
Born in 1966, Usiwa-usiwa came from Mulanje District.
Central Region Police spokesperson Nolliete Chihana yesterday said she was yet to get details of the accident from the Traffic Department. She asked to be called this Friday. n
