Lawyer accuses State of ill-treating Manondo

Hearing of the $184 500 (about K75 million) money laundering case against businessperson Pika Manondo failed to start at the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court yesterday due to his illness and absence of his lawyer Ralph Kasambara.

Senior resident magistrate Patrick Chirwa adjourned the case to April 16 to allow the State seek medical treatment for Manondo who was diagnosed with high blood pressure (BP) the day before he appeared in court.

Manondo did not leave the vehicle which brought him to court to start trial and was seen lying in the back seat seemingly in agony.

Wapona Kita, who represented Manondo in the absence of Kasambara, had to consult his client inside the car.

Kita said the accused needed to get treatment before trial could proceed.

Manondo has been in custody since November answering various charges, including conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting of the then Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo and money laundering case alongside Kasambara.

Said Kita: “What we were saying is that he was diagnosed with high BP yesterday. Up to now he hasn’t received treatment, so he has to be allowed to see a doctor again.”

Kita said the court had also adjourned the matter because Manondo’s lawyer had a case at the commercial court and it had been given prominence because it was a higher court.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Appeal is today expected to hear Manondo’s appeal on his bail application three months after the High Court in Lilongwe refused to release him because he was a flight risk.

MAM asked to stop Muslim women from dancing at political parties

MERCY MALIKWA

Staff Reporter

A Muslim grouping called the Islamic Concern of Malawi has condemned the Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM)’s silence over emergence of Muslim women dressed in hijab and performing “zikiri” at political rallies across the country.

Speaking at a news conference in Blantyre yesterday, the group’s vice-chairperson Yusuf Sambo said they expected MAM to come forward to condemn the act.

“We have been expecting MAM to come forward in the media and clear the air concerning the issue of Muslim women dancing at political rallies, but sadly it hasn’t and it has left us thinking that maybe there is some sort of relationship between the leadership of MAM and the political party in question,” said Sambo.

Reading a communiqué, Sambo said investigations have revealed that the women are mobilised through political party structures and senior politicians are responsible for their travel and other logistical arrangements. He also said some non-Muslim women join the dancing teams and disguise themselves by wearing the Islamic attire to beef up the numbers.

“Those women are mostly illiterate or semi-literate and have very little knowledge and come from very poor families and the politicians give incentives to the women in the form of cash, food items, party cloth and other small gifts,” said Sambo.

Despite condemning the behaviour of Muslim women dancing at political rallies, Sambo said the group realise Muslim women have a right and are encouraged to participate in politics and any developmental activities that do not contradict Islamic teachings and have a right to attend campaign rallies addressed by various candidates in the forthcoming election to make an informed choice.

However, MAM in a letter signed by the body’s secretary general Sheikh Salmin Omar has since asked political parties to stop parading Muslim women in the name of Gule wa Chisilamu or Gule wa Asilamu or any such variations among the traditional dances during political gatherings.