The full trial of the homicide case involving Rwanda national Gentille Giramata, who is accused of poisoning ex-husband, namely Lilongwe-based Rwandese businessperson Habimana Noel Emily, commenced yesterday at the High Court sitting in Lilongwe.
Two witnesses—namely mother of the deceased Bellancilla Mukandori and ex-girlfriend Hawa Hashim—testified against Giramata on Tuesday.
During both the examination and cross-examination, the mother of the deceased told the court that she was suspicious of how Giramata, who by then Emily’s ex-wife, came to report to them about his death.
Speaking in Nyarwanda through an interpreter, the mother of the deceased told the court that she did not believe that her son died in a road accident because she did not see any wound on the lifeless body at the mortuary.
“My son did not die in a road accident,” she said.
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On her part, Hashim told the court that the day the man died, she visited her at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District.
“He came to Dzaleka Refugee Camp, where I stay. He left around 11pm with a person who was calling him on the phone. After he left late at night, I tried to call him, as I wanted to inform him about something. His phone went unanswered until the next morning, when I was informed about his death,” Hashim said.
Dzikondianthu Malunda is representing the State while Khumbo Soko and Stanley Chirwa are representing the accused.
In 2023, the High Court revoked bail for Giramata Gentile after findings of an autopsy raised some suspicions.
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They indicated that the death of Emily was caused by poisoning and not a road accident.
High Court Judge Bruno Kalemba, who is presiding over the criminal case, issued the revocation order based on Section 124 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code.
The Rwanda-born businessperson, who owned supermarkets in Lilongwe and other property, died on October 17 2022.
An autopsy report by Senior Forensic Clinical Officer Dr Andrew Master Mwale from Kamuzu Central Hospital indicated that Emily died of poisoning.
“An autopsy case of the death of 31-year-old Noel Habimana Emily was due to commotio cordis, ruptured inferior vena cava, and concomitant poisoning with chlordane,” the report reads.
