There is heavy panic on the part of former Malawi leader Peter Mutharika and his then Chief Advisor Hetherwick Ntaba as the state is finalizing paper work to have the duo arrested for allegedly masterminding the gruesome killings of Albinos, in particular, for being implicated in the cold-blooded murder of Macdonald Masambuka, an Albino, in Machinga district.
The murder case in question saw a state police officer Chikondi Chileka, who was among those who were implicated as well, being handed a 30-year custodial sentence. It was Chileka and another convict Alfred Yohane, sentenced to life imprisonment, who on several occasions alleged that Mutharika and Ntaba were behind the plot to kill Masambuka.
In a letter dated July 1 2022 which was addressed to the office of the Inspector General of Police, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steve Kayuni directed Malawi Police Service to begin criminal proceedings following some testimonies during Masambuka’s case.
Reads the letter in part: “During the testimony and actual judgment, names of Messrs. His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika [former President of the Republic of Malawi] and Dr. Hetherwick Ntaba, then presidential adviser and chairperson of the National Task Force on Persons with Albinism, were now and again mentioned as having a part in the allegations.”
In the letter, the DPP further observed that former High Court judge Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga, now a Justice of Appeal, wondered in her judgement why no investigations were undertaken to substantiate the said allegations.
Kayuni directed: “In accordance with the law, the directorate is of the opinion that criminal investigations be instituted against the said allegations and references made by the High Court judgement.
“Further to this, possible charges are as follows: (a). Causing one to harm a person with a disability (killing), (b). Causing someone to harm one with a disability (extraction of tissue), (c). Transacting in human tissue.
“It is our hope that the acts herein will be investigated swiftly so as to address the wrongs allegedly committed.”
However, Ntaba and Mutharika have pressed the panic button as it appears that the arrests for the duo are imminent. In saving himself via the media, Ntaba said he was cleared by the DPP long time back of this allegation and wondered why they were resurfacing.
However, sources at the Ministry of Justice, who spoke on condition of anonymity dismissed Ntaba’s claim saying there is no professional officer at the Ministry who can do that. On his part, Mutharika told Voice of America that the charges were politically motivated.
However, President of the Association of People with Albinism, Young Muhamba, had no kind words for the duo saying there is no need for Mutharika and Ntaba to defend themselves in the media saying the right place for them to lodge their defence is in a competent court of law.
