By Vincent Gunde
A member of the Refugees Community based at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa district says they have welcomed the High Court sitting in Lilongwe decision of sentencing Rwandan national Gentille Giremata to 40 years imprisonment with hard labor for murdering her husband, Noel Emile Hibamana in 2022.
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In his ruling, High Court Judge Bruno Kalemba also sentenced the second convict in the murder case Rafik Munyamagaju to 35 years imprisonment with hard labor saying the sentences took into account that the murder was premeditated and committed using a weapon.
Giramata jumped bail, escaped to Zambia to board a plane to an unknown country and was arrested in that country and brought back to Malawi.
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Speaking on a strict condition of anonymity, a member of the refugees community in Malawi said they were expecting that the convicted should be sentenced to life imprisonment saying they committed the crime with premeditation, they never pleaded guilty, no remorse during trial observing that these are aggravating circumstances.
” We are going to request the Prosecutor to appeal the sentence to the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal because of the penalties,” he said.
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The refugees community member has thanked the Zambian government especially the Attorney General for declaring Section 2 of the Citizenship Act as unconstitutional, null and void observing that this is the section that has been used by the Zambian government to deny refugees who have lived 5 to 10 years in that country citizenship because they are not granted permanent resident permit.
He said this was a challenge to them that the section conflicts with the constitution that every person who has lived in Zambia including refugees do not need to apply for a permanent resident permit but to show that they have been lawfully staying in Zambia for a longer period of time.
The member said for the children born in Zambia, it was unacceptable that they were supposed to get resident permit to apply for citizenship which is in conflict with Article 266 of the Zambian constitution.
” Any person who had lawful resident permit and integrated, they can just apply and not applying for citizenship but only showing resident permit,’ said the source.
He said the refugees fommunity did not expect such landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court of Zambia to refugee parents that they are Zambian citizens claiming that the refugees community are very law abiding citizens, they don’t go into conflict with the law observing that the decision of the court in Zambia has open the doors for those who want who want to apply for citizenship in Zambia.
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He has thanked Hon. Wamunyima, Member of Parliament for Kalolo in Zambia who asked Parliament to amend the law for its inconsistent with the constitution, Parliament refused to do that on the argument that the law is the law faulting Parliament wrong, they could have amended the law before the matter was brought to court.
The member of refugees Community in Malawi has expressed hope that there could be an advocacy on the amendment of the 1987 reservations in order to allow refugees’ rights and citizenship to refugees born children.
