The High Court of Malawi has set April 28 to deliver a ruling in a case in which 11 people are accused of killing MacDonald Masambuka, a young man with albinism from Machinga.
In a notice to all parties in the case, presiding Judge Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga said the ruling will be delivered in Blantyre on Thursday.
The Legal Aid Bureau, which is representing some of the accused persons in the case and earlier wrote the court expressing concern over the delay, welcomed the court’s decision to set a date for the judgement.
In an interview yesterday, Legal Aid Bureau director general Masauko Chamkakala said the delay in judgement delivery had affected their operations as their office could not start working on similar cases.
He said: “We have been praying for the conclusion of this case and at this stage, we are now happy that the accused will finally know their fate.”
Another defence lawyer Timothy Chirwa said yesterday the delay has also affected families of the accused.
He said: “All the 11 accused persons, as well as their families, could not move even an inch as their attention was at the court pending judgment of the case.”
The State, through the Ministry of Justice and Constitution Affairs spokesperson Pirirani Masanjala said they too have been waiting for judgement day in the matter.
He said: “We duly put all the evidence before the honourable court and at the moment, we have been waiting for the decision of the court.”
In a separate interview, Association of Persons Living with Albinism in Malawi president Young Mahamba said his association lost patience with the case.
However, he said they are still looking forward to hear how the court will decide the matter.
Twelve people were arrested in March 2018 as suspects in the murder of Masambuka. Hearing of the case concluded in February 2020, but judgement was yet to be delivered.
All the 11 accused, but one, pleaded guilty to the charge of murdering the boy.
Masambuka went missing on March 9 2018 and his body was later found buried in a garden on April 2 2018 near Makawa Village in Senior Chief Mkoowola.
Among those arrested in connection with Masambuka’s murder are Roman Catholic priest Father Thomas Muhosha, police officer Chikondi Chileka, the deceased’s biological brother Kassim Masambuka and Machinga District Hospital clinical officer Lumbani Kamanga.
