Man in for life, wife 25 years for murder

The High Court sitting in Mwanza on Friday sentenced a man to life imprisonment and his wife to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour for murder.

Judge Rowland Mbvundula found Allan Philemon, 32, and his wife Victoria guilty of murder a fortnight ago.

The couple was arrested for killing a pregnant woman and extracting the premature baby in September 2004 in the district.

According to Mwanza Police spokesperson Victoria Chirwa, the court heard that the convicts, 28-year-old Victoria and her husband killed and removed a baby from the womb of Agatha Efremu, a mother of four children.

The court heard that Efremu had a nine-month pregnancy and was killed a week before she was expected to deliver.

Chirwa said the court heard that Victoria went with her mother to the hospital, claiming to be five months pregnant. While there, the two women persuaded Efremu to go for a walk to a river where she met her fate.

Chirwa said Victoria and her mother returned to the hospital, carrying baby, claiming Victoria had delivered. The claim was proved false after medical tests at Mwanza District Hospital.

Passing the judgment, Mbvundula said he decided to be lenient with the woman because she was a first offender; was arrested when she was only 18 and in mitigation she was remorseful and regretted the barbaric act, which he said was not the case with the husband.

The two were later sent to Chichiri Prison in Blantyre.