Misozi Chanthunya’s extradition takes chameleon’s pace

Six years after fugitive business person, Misozi Chanthunya, allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Linda Gasa, the suspect is still in South Africa awaiting extradition and the authorities could not give any update on repatriation.

Chanthunya is suspected to have committed the crime in September 2010 and that he buried Gasa in a make-shift crypt at his private cottage in Monkey-bay Mangochi.

Ministry of Justice Spokesperson, Apoche Itimu, in an interview yesterday said the relevant officer to comment on the matter was tied up with court appearances in Zomba.

She also asked for a questionnaire which was not responded to despite several assurances to do so.

But a law expert from Chancellor College, Edge Kanyongolo, said in an interview on Monday that justice is being delayed and denied for both Chanthunya and relatives of the deceased woman.

“The two parties are entitled to justice, because as far as I know, Chanthunya was not convicted of the alleged crime and at the same time relatives of the victim also want this matter to be concluded quickly.

“The way I understand it, one has to use the tradition process, and the justice system in South Africa allows someone to file appeal even at the constitutional court unlike in this country where one only goes up to the High Court,” said Kanyongolo.

According to Kanyongolo, the law is being followed in the matter adding that the delays can best be interpreted by lawyers in South Africa where Chanthunya was hiding before he was arrested by Interpol in January 2012 after being on the run for 17 months.

Chanthunya first appealed against his extradition in June 2013 in a South African court and months later again filed a final appeal to stop the extradition at the Supreme Court.

Former Minister of Justice Fahad Assani in 2014 said government needed at least K21 million to extradite and try the suspect back home.

At the time, Assani said the repatriation was delaying because the governments of South Africa and Malawi were banging heads on how to sort out the issue of death penalty.

It was widely believed then that the country still had the death penalty for murder whilst the South African government abolished it some time back hence the hesitation to extradite Chanthunya.