Malawi: Faiti Village Police officer Beyod Chapotera in the police force of Zambia has been convicted for the murder of his garden boy. The official shot his garden boy to his death on March 28. The High Court in Lilongwe has convicted the official on April 2.
The suspect, who is a resident of Area 3 in Lilongwe, left his house on the night of Thursday to meet with some of his fellow police officers. At the time of leaving the house, he was armed with a loaded gun.
The 48-year-old convict is a resident of the Faiti Village, Traditional Authority Phambala in Ntcheu. He met a group of police officers who had arrested his garden boy, the deceased victim identified as Conwell Zenasi.
According to the information provided to the court, Chapotera spoke to the police officers on Thursday regarding the deceased. He informed them that Conwell Zenasi was his bodyguard and not a criminal.
Afterwards, the police officer convinced his peers to let him let him leave. After this interaction, the other officers of the Police Force left the scene, except for the convict.
At this point, Beyod Chapotera also allowed the victim to leave. However, when the victim was leaving with his girlfriend, the officer shot him in the back.
The representative of the Police Officer has claimed that the reason for the shooting was a mistake. According to the lawyer of the defendant, Khwima Mchizi the discharge of the bullet was accidental.
Meanwhile, Mathews Chione, a lawyer from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, argued against this. He was representing the deceased’s side. He asserted in front of the court that the police officer’s negligence was the cause.
He called on the judge of the Malawi High Court to convict the offender of manslaughter. Justice Anabel Mtalimanja agreed with the State lawyer’s argument.
She said the state had successfully proved its case. Accordingly, the judge convicted the accused of manslaughter.
The court has given the public prosecutor and the defendant 14 days to make their final submissions before a sentence is handed down.