Aniva ‘hyena’ case adjourns, back to court Sept 16
Eric Aniva, the Nsanje man who confessed to defiling young girls and sleeping with widows in a sexual cleansing ritual when he was HIV positive on Friday walked out of Nsanje principal magistrate court after two state witnesses took to the dock.
Principal resident magistrate Innocent Nedi adjourned the case to September 16 when the state is expected to parade six more state witnesses.
Aniva’s story became popular following an interview he granted the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on July 21, in which he confessed being hired to sleep with girls and widows in a sexual cleansing ritual. The revelations prompted Mutharika to order his arrest.
He said so far he had slept with over 100 widows and young girls in the sexual ritual cleansing exercises, an outdated cultural practice in Nsanje.
Aniva, who is fully remanded at Nsanje Prison is answering charges of practising harmful cultural practices.
The Malawi Law Society of Malawi is representing him.
The case has been delayed after First Grade Magistrate Anderson Masanjala recused himself from the case citing conflict of interest as the reason as he lives in Nsanje.
Aniva’s second wife Fanny Eric said the man stopped the practice way before he married her four years ago.
Aniva’s first wife is from Traditional Authority (T/A) Malemia and Eric comes from T/A Mbenje.
Nkhani ya cashgate ndiye mpaka zaka four without conclusion koma za ziii ndiye speady trial?