Malawi Parliament urges Lilongwe to talk to Beijing over cocaine trafficker

Parliament’s International Relations Committee is urging the government to swiftly talk to Beijing over the arrested 29 year old Malawian lady who is facing death sentence in China because of drug trafficking.

The committee’s chairman Alex Meja said the government should take this as a matter of urgency before the Chinese courts sentence her to death in October.

“She can be convicted but the government can always negotiate to the Chinese authorities for a pardon so that she is repatriated back home. As parliament, we will pursue the matter further,” he said.

Estina Mkasela is expected to appear in court on October 24 to answer drug trafficking charges after she was found with a two kilogram cocaine in China.

But Meja blamed the increasing number of Malawian women dealing in drug trafficking to the worsening economic situation in the country and lapses in security systems.

“Our borders are porous, our security systems in airports have lapses,” he said.

He said it was worrisome that some Malawian women are facing death sentences or prolonged jail terms in India, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Thailand.

The government said the Malawian women are usually enticed by some crooked drug dealers from west Africa who promise huge sums of money after the drug trafficking