Coroner to be appointed for Lule’s murder in custody: Attorney General advises police for  inquest

Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale has advised  Malawi police Inspector General  Rodney Jose to facilitate an inquest into the death of Buleya Lule, a key suspect in the abduction of a boy with albinism.

Lule died in police custody after he appeared in the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court on February 21 on the first day of trial over the abduction of Goodson Makanjira, 14, from Mphanyama Village, in Traditional Authority Chilikumwendo, Dedza.

A forensic autopsy report issued by an independent pathologist Charles Dzamalala indicated Lule, died from electrocution and blunt force trauma to the head,  in contrast to an earlier autopsy commissioned by Malawi Police which claimed he had died of natural causes.

And Malawi Human Rights Commission’s (MHRC) report said Lule was not the masterminder of the abduction of the 14-year-old boy with albinism.

Deputy spokesperson for police at police headquarters Tomeck Nyaude said with Attorney General’s advice this means the issue will now be under judiciary who will identify the coroner for the inquest.

Lule was gruesomely murdered in police custody by nine police officers who include wife to the powerful President Peter Mutharika’s chief of guard Norman Chisale’s wife who remains acting police commissioner for the centre.

“The Inspector General of Police had sought legal advice from the Attorney General and the advice is that an inquest should be facilitated with a coroner to look into the murder of Buleya Lule,” said Nyaude.

A Malawi Human Rights Commission report found that Mrs Chisale and eight other police officers murdered Lule in cold blood.

According to the report the possible timelines of his death shows the incident must have happened from the time Lule left the court on 20th February to the time he was taken to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) after he passed out.

Legal findings of the MHRC investigation say that police violated Lule’s right to life when they tortured him.

The report recommends that the Inspector General of Police should institute criminal investigations into all Police officers who handled Lule between the 19th and 20 February.

The report also recommends that the Director of Public Prosecutions should start criminal proceedings against all the police officers mentioned in the report who had direct contact with Lule.

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