By Nzondi Lungu Opinion
Alot has been said, we are even scared to comment because you will say either we receive money from MCP , UTM , Sattar or we are praise singer somewhere depending on how you digest our view.
Yes there is anger out there! But growing up in a village have you ever seen an incident where you are chasing a thief, the dogs are helping you and they have taken the lead chasing, running fast but suddenly the dogs stop somewhere just barking louder and louder! You look where they have stopped, it’s a standing tree, mistaken for a human being to your disappointment? Meanwhile the thief is gone!
This is how it reads to me at the moment, the focus is gone and instead we have turned into.each other to the extent of wanting to burry someone alive reason ? His or her name was mentioned somewhere and yet we forget there is a difference between being mentioned and being linked under criminal law. Since am starting to talk about criminal law let me just go further before am judged to be defending someone here. Let’s talk about the bail hearings pa UK.
Under the Bail Act 1976 without mentioning sections incase I am judged like akufuna kutionetsa ngati akuziwa zinthu, the reasons for bail hearings are to look at what liberties or freedoms or restrictions the suspects should have while under investigations. When a person is under investigations it means the evidence is still being gathered and let me pause there! Did you hear what I said? I will repeat the evidence regarding his alleged crime is still being gathered and those opposing bail.will be saying they fear the suspect will interfere with their witnesses if there are no restrictions imposed but the suspects’ lawyers will be saying there will be no interferences with any investigations in assuring the judge that restrictions are not necessary and that is the bone of contention and this hearing according to UK criminal procedures doesn’t last long most times its just a 30 minutes hearing.
Please note this is only bail hearing. Its not a trial. What is the difference? The voluminous evidence of a crime are not in any form or shape submitted at a bail hearing. So if someone is telling you in a UK magistrates court explosive evidence was submitted with affidavits at a bail hearing it will be up to you to question if this is accurate I have just given you the breakdown on how things work.
Now if you look at what has been published on social media about certain individuals. Without jumping to their defence this information is in no way coming from the UK magistrates courts given the context and the way its presented. I can only suspect its coming from other sources within Malawi because here the case is at investigatory stage. Once all evidence is gathered the file is sent to the Crown Prosecution Services where they will review all the evidence and make a decision whether to charge the suspect or end the case with no further investigation.
If he has already been charged they will set a trial date and it is at that stage where the full evidence with affidavits in short the bundle is looked at by the courts. Even if the full evidence is submitted the courts here, from my little knowledge , will not accept the bundle with unredacted names of people. Any individual that is mentioned their names will never appear on the evidence bundle as others have alleged.
The UK courts follow the Data Protection legislation under Data Protection Act 2018 strictly and for that reason it is almost impossible to have your name mentioned when you are not the one under criminal investigation. Sorry am now annoying some people with this and they will be asking where did those names of Chilima, Presidential aides come from, I leave that to you to find out but not from UK magistrates courts. Maybe its from within Malawi itself.
Someone will say they saw a court document opposing bail but what you were shown is a front page, bail application or opposing submissions don’t last more than 3 pages here so if they showed you one page only ask yourself where are the remaining pages so you can see for yourself if what they are saying that so and so was mentioned to be under investigations in the UK courts is true? If you believe things without seeing original documents then I feel sorry for you it shows how one can easily fool you.
Now go back to my opening saying, we are barking at each other with insanity as if that will recover what has been looted and stolen forgetting the main target and the target is gone!
Don’t waste time arguing with me. I don’t support UTM, MCP and I don’t know who is Sattar.
