Chisale charged at court for murder of Njaunju: Remanded at Maula Prison

The Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court has formally charged former president Peter Mutharika’s personal bodyguard Norman Chisale with murder pertaining to the killing of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) director  of corporate affairs Issa Njauju.

Chisale, however, did not take plea as the case is supposed to be committed to the High Court at a later date where trial will take place.

Chisale denies the murder allegations.

He was transferred from Blantyre yesterday after his re-arrest on Tuesday over attempted murder charges.

He was initially arrested in Lilongwe on charges of importing cement duty free using Mutharika’s TPIN.

Meanwhile, Chisale has been remanded at Maula Prison waiting for the trial.

The case has since been committed to the High Court for trial.

Police made several arrests in connection with the July 2015 macabre murder of Njauju who went missing for two days before his body was found by sand miners half-buried and his official vehicle, a Totota Hilux double-cabin pick-up, destroyed in a different location.

Those who were arrested in connection with the murder are two police officers;  Sergeant Titus Thombozi who was attached to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) at Mchinji border, but he was operating from Mchinji Police Station and  Christopher Naphiyo.

The first suspect to be arrested and charged with murder was Frank John who was found with Njauju’s mobile phone handset after donors stressed that the murder was an attack on the justice system and fight against corruption.

Post-mortem results revealed that Njauju’s body had bullet wounds in the neck and stomach.

According to acting British High Commissioner David Beer, a UK-sponsored homicide expert already investigated and submitted a report to Malawi Police Service.