Court denies Van Schalhwl bail, HRCC demands deportation

Dean Van Schalhwl, a man whose five vicious dogs savagely maimed his Malawian watchman was on Monday July 26 denied bail by the Lilongwe Magistrates Court.

Van Schalhwl, who is in police custody was arrested on Thursday last week after his dogs attacked the guard Cephas Chimdima, 72, has been charged with keeping animals which are dangerous to human beings and negliegence contrary to Section 46 subsection B and Section 181 of the penal code respectively.

There were a lot of Chimdima’s sympathisers at the court where police officers were also deployed in large numbers to provide maximum security as there have been fears that angry Malawians would attack the white man, whose originality now is said to be Zimbabwean, contrary to earlier reports that he was South African.

Lawyers representing the white man asked the court to release their client so that he should be able to provide necessities to his injured watchman among other reasons.

But State prosecutors argued that bail should not be granted as there is potential the Zimbabwean national could jump bail.

Van Schalhwl is also said to have illegally solicited an HIV test and its results on the watchman as he feared that the man may have transmitted HIV to the dogs, a conduct that angered authorities including President Bingu wa Mutharika and the human rights organizations.

Meanwhile, an umbrella body for human rights institutions in Malawi, the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) has asked the Malawi government to immediately deport Van Schalhwl.

In its petition to Home Affairs Minister Aaron Sangala, HRCC says “The attack on Mr. Chimdima is an attack on human dignity… we demand the deportation of Mr. Dean Van Schalhwl and his family.”

However, the Minister, who received the petition, said he could not comment as the issue was still in court.

Further, through Chairperson Undule Mwakasungula, HRCC says they side with proponents calling for the slaughter of the dogs which are believed to have been cross-bred with such wild cats as lions and leopards.

In a statement,  HRCC which is a network of 91 civil society organizations working to promote human rights and good governance condemned non Malawians who have taken their Malawian workers as lower than their dogs.

“This behavior contravenes the fundamental rights that all human beings are expected to enjoy; it takes away the spirit of coexistence. HRCC will take all necessary peaceful actions to make sure that Malawi’s human rights image is not tainted by irresponsible acts such as the one shown by the white couple.”

*PICTURE: Van Schalhwl -Photo Nyasa Times

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