Bobe murder trial adjourned as court seeks video transcriber

The trial of seven men accused of murdering Dr Victoria Bobe, a Blantyre obstetrician shot dead during an armed robbery at her home last year, was adjourned on Wednesday until Thursday afternoon, as the High Court moved to secure a transcriber for a video the prosecution intends to submit as evidence.

The case, being heard before Justice Ruth Chinangwa at the High Court in Blantyre, opened on Monday with all seven accused — Charles Chikafa, Maxwell Elia, Rafik Abdul Hassan, Santos Chamaba, Peter Chimenya, Issa Ali and Peter Mphepo — pleading not guilty to charges of murder, robbery and burglary.

Dr Bobe, 33, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and a lecturer at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, was shot at her home in Chigumula Township on 17 November last year, in an attack that shocked Malawi’s medical community and prompted widespread calls for justice.

The prosecution’s first witness was her husband, Yamikani Bobe, whose testimony on Tuesday brought proceedings to a temporary halt when he broke down in tears recalling the night armed intruders stormed the couple’s home.

The court adjourned briefly to allow him to compose himself before he resumed giving evidence, telling the judge he still did not understand the motive behind the attack.

A neighbour also testified, telling the court he had gone outside after seeing a warning about the break-in posted in a residents’ WhatsApp group, and encountered a group of men outside his gate — one of whom fired a shot into the air and warned him away.

He said he had since identified two of the accused.
Nine witnesses have been lined up by the State to build its case.

The trial, scheduled to run this week, is expected to resume on Thursday afternoon once arrangements for the video evidence have been finalised.