Malawi: Former president’s aide denied application for further arrest.

By James Mwala.

The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed an application by former President Peter Mutharika’s bodyguard Norman Chisale to stop the state from effecting any further arrests on him.

Chisale who has faced arrests over another due to corruption and murder related crimes, applied through his lawyer to stop the state from arresting him further.

But in his ruling, Supreme Court Judge Lovemore Chikopa rejected the application on the premise that if granted, the order would entail an interference on the law.

Chisale has been arrested thrice: First on charges of fraud and money laundering which relate to the importation of free duty cement worth K5 billion- a case that allegedly involved Mutharika.

Chisale was later re-arrested for the attempted murder of a woman in Blantyre.

As if this was not enough, he was arrested shortly after he was released from Chichiri Prison on bail.

 The third arrest relates to the murder of Issa Njauju, a senior Anti-Corruption Bureau Officer who was mercilessly slain five years ago.

He is now on remand at Maula Prison in the capital Lilongwe.

Chisale served as Mutharika’s bodyguard since 2014 until 2020’s fresh presidential election.