Two people, namely pathologist George Liomba and Malawi Police Service investigator Baxter Mukumbwa, Thursday testified in the case connected to the discovery of a mass grave containing 30 bodies of unidentified migrants in Mtangatanga Forest, Mzimba District.
In his testimony, Liomba said an autopsy indicated that the 30 people died due to suffocation contributed by carbon monoxide inhalation.
He said part of their assignment was to determine how long the bodies might have been in the forest, indicating that the bodies could have been there for between four and five days.
“The bodies showed similar traits. They well tall, slim, male adults with ages estimated between 25 and 45. 27 bodies wore dark trousers, three bodies had only underpants. 21 bodies had no shirts,” Liomba said.
To explain better, Liomba brought into the court pictures of the bodies, which were telecast through a projector.
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In cross-examination, the defence asked Liomba to explain how he concluded that it was carbon monoxide that triggered suffocation when Central Veterinary Laboratory, where the samples were taken to, declined to confirm the results as the laboratory needed fresh blood which the pathologists did not have.
On this, Liomba said some body tissues showed cherry colour, which is a typical sign of carbon monoxide infiltration in a body.
Liomba— who conducted the autopsy alongside another pathologist Charles Dzamalala and laboratory technician Emmanuel Mpembeka— also told the court that the first day they conducted their investigation, which is October 21 2022, they found that 25 bodies had already been put in white body bags.
In his testimony, Mukumbwa— who is a police officer at Mzimba Police Station and was among the first police officers to visit the mass grave— said he picked a number of objects which have since been tendered in court as evidence.
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Among the objects are a motor vehicle piece of metal, deposit slip from an Ethiopian Bank, two identity cards (IDs) in Arabic language, documents bearing foreign phone numbers, a wristwatch, among others.
When quizzed by the defence on whether he was able to match the IDs with any of the dead bodies, Mukumbwa said that was not done.
He also told the court that he was not sure if the people were brought into the forest dead or alive.
This far, five people have testified out of the 14 witnesses the State is expected to parade.
Former first lady Gertrude Mutharika’s son Tadikira Mafubza is among those answering manslaughter and aggravated human trafficking charges alongside seven others.
The cases are related to the discovery of the bodies
The other seven are Samuel Navaya, David Luhanga, Thomas Kazembe, Duncan Kalulu, Boniface Ngulube, Aubrey Dukes and Arnold Mwakiyelu.
Meanwhile, High Court Judge Gladys Gondwe has adjourned the case to November 28 to 30 this year for continuation of hearing.
However, the court will convene today for hearing of the bail application of Aubrey Dukes and Arnold Mwakiyelo, who were arrested last month.
