Court finds 2 female guardians with case to answer on nurse assault
The Blantyre Magistrate Court has found a mother and daughter with a case to answer on charges of assaulting a nurse in the line on duty at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre.
Senior resident Magistrate Akya Mwanyongo made the ruling on Wednesday morning.
The two women are Esnart Selemani, 53 years old and her daughter Yankho Selemani, 30.
They are accused of physically assaulting a nurse, Gertrude Moffat, in her line of duty at the hospital, when she was trying to control human traffic as part of Covid-19 precautionary measures.
The magistrates said the wiriness testimonies, which included a narration from Moffatt himself, proved elements of assault causing bodily harm.
“A detailed analysis at this stage is not requires, but I will give a bird’s eye view of the evidence tendered in court. Evidence of the prosecution proved element that the nurse was assaulted,” said Mwanyongo.
The magistrate has given the defence seven days to submit all necessary documentation on their case.
Chief legal aid advocate Rodgers Mpombeza- who is representing the accused, says has accepted the ruling and what is left now is preparing for defence.
“We are also preparing to file an application which we are going to compel the attendance of prosecution witnesses,” he said.
