By Jimmy Chazama
The Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Court on Thursday adjourned to Friday hearing of the case of renowned actor Tumpe Mtaya, popularly known as Phwedo.
Well known for his role in award-winning film School Days, Phwedo appeared before the court for hearing on Thursday.
During the hearing, Chief Resident Magistrate Benjamin Chulu stated that the suspect has been charged with two offences, one of engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor under the age of 18, and another of child abduction.
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Before the hearing started, defence lawyers stated that their client should not enter a plea, as the prosecution has not served them with the charge sheet (disclosures).
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The State acknowledged this oversight but indicated that they were only asking the suspect to know the reasons for his detention in accordance with the 48-hour rule.
The State then made an application to continue detaining the accused person, as they have not finished investigating the matter, for five days, but the defence objected to the application, insisting that the State must clearly present reasons for this request.
One of the defence lawyers Robert Kadzakumanja argued that there are no valid reasons for the continued detention of the accused.
“The State did not provide sufficient justification for keeping the accused in custody, and we believe he should be released on bail.
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Additionally, the State did not give us case documents (disclosures), hence the accused was not supposed to start answering the charges,” Kadzakumanja said.
The court reserved its ruling to today. The accused has three defence lawyers, including Khwima Mchizi and Stanley Chirwa. The case attracted many spectators, including School Days actors led by 4Kaya Filmz Director Kendall Kamwendo.
Phwedo, who informed the court that he is 31 years old, was arrested on Tuesday this week on charges of allegedly having sex with a minor. This followed the results of a medical examination, after which Mtaya was formally charged
