Chanthunya fights extradition in South Africa court
Malawian murder suspect Misozi Chanthunya is today, May 24, expected to appear in a South African court for hearing on whether or not he should be repatriated to Malawi to face charges.
A two-man Malawian delegation from the Ministry of Justice and office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) respectively left the country last week for the rainbow nation to attend the hearing and plead with the court to send back the murder suspect.
The fugitive Malawian business tycoon was arrested on January 23 this year by International Police (Interpol) in Rustenburg, South Africa where he had been hiding after being on the run for about a year.
Chanthunya is accused of gruesomely killing his pregnant Zimbabwean girlfriend, Linda Gasa, in September 2010.
Late Gasa, a student at the Malawi College of Accountancy, was found entombed in Chanthunya’s private cottage at Monkey Bay, Mangochi where it is reported that the two went to discuss the pregnancy issue which Chanthunya wanted her to abort but Gasa declined.
Ministry of Justice Spokesperson Apoche Itimu said last week the Malawian delegation has gone to South Africa to witness the proceedings and then urge the court to extradite Chanthunya “but the
decision to bring him to Malawi rests entirely upon the South African court.”
Hearing of the case was supposed to take place last month but it was adjourned after Chanthunya’s lawyer failed to turn up because he had another court case on the same day, according to Itimu.
Since his mysterious ‘escape’ in Malawi, Chanthunya had been reportedly co-habiting with a Malawian woman in South Africa until his arrest.
His mate, 22-year-old Ria Evans, was also arrested late January and repatriated to Malawi.
At some point, Chanthunya’s escape was linked to former President Bingu wa Mutharika’s daughter, Duwa, who was accused of having played a hand for his fleeing.
Before Chanthunya’s arrest there were several claims of his sightings in as far afield as Cuba, the United States of America and Zambia.
Chanthunya was married to Prudence Leboa, a South African business lady with whom he had two children. But she closed her several businesses before returning to her country immediately after her
husband bolted.
