The State Monday asked the Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Court to remand murder suspect Lester Maganga for 90 days to allow the police to conclude investigations into the matter.
The development comes after, on Friday, police in Lilongwe arrested 29 year-old Maganga in connection with the murder of Coca-Cola Beverages Company former employee Allan Witika, who was found dead in his car in Lilongwe’s Area 15.
When the suspect appeared in court to be formally charged Monday, Lingadzi Police Prosecutor Davison Banda told the court that the State wanted 90 days to conclude investigations.
The court has since charged Maganga with the murder of Witika.
Lawyer for Maganga, Innocent Kubwalo, told the court that they intend to apply for bail at the High Court.
Senior Resident Magistrate Wanangwa Nyirenda has since committed the case to the High Court.
Maganga, who was wearing a blue shirt and black pair of trousers, arrived at the court in a police van. He also wore a sky-blue facemask and dark glasses.
From the waiting bay at the court, Maganga, who used a black jacket to hide handcuffs, walked at a fast pace as tens of sympathisers and members of the public followed him into the court room.
Malawi Police Service deputy spokesperson Alfred Chimthere told The Daily Times Monday that preliminary investigations have revealed that the late Witika and the suspect Maganga once dated the same girl and that the two had been quarrelling over the matter.
Maganga comes from Chikumbu Village, Traditional Authority Chikumbu, in Mulanje District.