By Daniel Zimba:
The Blantyre Chief Resident Magistrate (CRM) Court has ruled that Dutch national Wim Akster has a case to answer on five out of six counts he was previously accused of.
The court has since said it will proceed to hear Akster’s defence on May 20, 2026.
CRM Paul Chiotcha read the ruling for almost an hour Monday, after which he acquitted one count previously presented by the State’s first witness.
According to Chiotcha, the first witness failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Akster sodomised him [the witness] as he previously alleged.
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Chiotcha further directed the defence to submit their witness statements—if witnesses are available— within the given 21 days.
“Once you [defence] decide that the accused would be able to defend himself, we expect you to come forward by the 20th of May for us to proceed,” Chiotcha said after the ruling.
The adjournment followed a request from defence lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta, who asked for 21 days to prepare before his client enters defence.
Chipeta acknowledged that the case had been in the court for years and had also drawn more public interest, claiming that he needed ample time to go through the ruling and consult his client before presenting the defence.
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Chipeta joined the case on January 21, 2026 after former defence lawyer Fostino Maere recused himself after being appointed Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In reaction to the plea, State lawyer Victor Jere described it as fair and reasonable.
In an interview after the hearing, Jere said he was satisfied with progress made thus far in the case.
“This is what we had expected, only that we expected him [Akster] to be found with a case to answer in all counts but, all in all, five out of six counts is fair enough for us,” Jere said.
Akster was arrested in 2021 following allegations that he sodomized nine beneficiaries of a bursary scheme at Timotheus Foundation between 2019 and 2020, when he served as financial manager.
