Court frees Nachipanti’s accomplices
Blantyre Magistrates Court on Friday acquited three of the accused in the Ndirande ‘Nachipanti ‘saga due to lack of convicting evidence.
The three, Towera Chisa, Kelvin Chisa and Noel Numero were arrested in 2010 together with Alinuswe Munde after being implicated by the prime accused Jack Bandawe in the blood sucking, rape and grievous human assault saga in populous Ndirande Township, Blantyre.
The mysterious attacks were dubbed “Nachipanti” as the people involved in the mysterious attacks were said to be dressed only in pants and carried out the gruesome murders at night.
Noel Numero, Kelvin and Towera Chisa together with the other two, Bandawe popularly known as Nachipanti and Munde were charged with six counts at Blantyre Magistrates court while answering murder charges at High Court.
They were charged of five counts on acts intended to cause grievous harm contrary to Section 235 of the Penal Code and one count of rape contrary to Section 133 of the Penal Code.
And on Friday the Magistrates court found the Chisa brothers and Numero not guilty of all six counts leveled against them on grounds that none of the evidence provided in court was not convicting enough to connect the trio to the crimes.
Chief Residence Magistrate (CRM) Ligowe passing the judgment already prepared by Magistrate Mzondi Mvula, told the court that despite direct and indirect evidence clearly indicating that the mentioned crimes were indeed committed, there was no detail that pin the accused to the case.
“None of the victims could identify who did it…To this end both direct and indirect evidence have failed to connect the accused persons to the counts 1 to 4. To this end offences were committed there is reasonable doubt as to the accused persons committed them,” reads the judgment.
Ligowe said it was up to the court to upheld the law and set free the accused due to lack of evidence that would pin them to the said crimes.
The Magistrate noted that there were indications that the accomplices to the case were just implicated by the prime suspect in order to have an alibi in the case.
Kelvin and Towera Chisa together with Numero, Bandawe and Munde are said on September 27/28, 2006 to have, in separate occasions, grievously assaulted Ester Muyaya and Koleta Kazembe of Ndirande Township.
They are also said to have attacked and raped a Blantyre Secondary School student Elida Jafeti on February 3, 2007- she was later found pregnant.
And on August 26 at Golio in same Ndirande Township, the accused five are said to have attacked and assaulted Ester Liness James.
Meanwhile, the acquitted three are expected to be vindicated by the High Court in a related murder case, which has been dragging for long.
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