By Jimmy Chazama
The Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Court on Friday set May 8 2025 for the hearing of the case involving renowned actor Tumpe Mtaya.
Mtaya, who was granted bail on Friday, was arrested last Tuesday for allegedly having sexual intercourse with a child, in line with Section 138 of the Penal Code.
Principal Resident Magistrate Benjamin Chulu granted bail to Mtaya stating that the state had failed to provide sufficient reasons to keep him in custody while investigations into the alleged crimes are ongoing.
During the court proceedings on Friday, Chulu criticised the state for not providing disclosures to the accused through his defense lawyers.
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In response, the state indicated that they would provide disclosures to the accused this week. Chulu acknowledged the state’s concerns about potential interference with evidence saying Phwedo is famous and that he could interfere witnesses but noted that they did not present evidence on how Phwedo could interfere.
He also remarked that the state did not provide evidence regarding the actions that would be taken during the five days of Phwedo’s detention.
Nevertheless, the court issued several bail conditions, including that Phwedo must not interfere with any witnesses in the case, provide travel documents to the court, report to the Central West Police once every two weeks, pay K200,000 as security, and he also presented two witnesses to the bail.
These witnesses would be liable to pay K2 million each if he escapes. One of the defense lawyers, Khwima Mchizi, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision.
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“We agree with the court ruling that the state failed to provide reasons for further detaining the accused person on remand, so this is a welcome development,” Mchizi said. He said they would ensure that the accused adheres to the bail conditions.
