Magistrate orders arrest of late Maloya’s brother: Malawi Police refuse to arrest

Bizarre! This is how to best describe the arrest of Jimmy Maloya, a Mulanje resident and brother to the late Hastings Maloya, a well known journalist who died almost three months ago even after the law enforcers, Police  however refused o arrest him.

Weird, because even the law enforcers, refused to arrest Jimmy Maloya in the absence of a court order made by Mulanje Magistrate Soka Banda on contempt of court proceedings over deceased estate matters, the Magistrate affected the arrest.

When the Police blatantly refused to arrest Maloya, it was the Magistrate Soka Banda who ordered one of his messengers at Mulanje Magistrate Court to arrest Maloya and took him to Mulanje Prison.

Police sources said they refused to arrest Maloya without a valid and signed court order requiring them to affect the arrest.

“We could not just arrest him by word of mouth from the Magistrate. We asked for a signed court order which was not given and we refused to affect the arrest because there was no basis for us to arrest Jimmy (Maloya),” said the officer.

According to insiders, when Magistrate Banda saw that Police have refused to arrest Maloya, he instructed his office messenger a Mr. Nagoli to arrest Maloya and take him to Mulanje Prison.

However, human rights activist and Executive Director of Friends of Mulanje Orphanage (FOMO) Mary Woodworth protested against the arrest and demanded the signed court order from Magistrate Banda and this yielded nothing.

“This is very strange indeed. This is abuse of position and office, clearly. If this boy is in the wrong, why can’t the Magistrate produce the signed court order stating the boy’s crime?” wondered Woodworth who camped at Mulanje Prison trying to reason with officials to release Jimmy Maloya.

“I have spoken to the member f parliament for this area Richie Muheya who is also a cabinet minister and there is nothing he has done. I also don’t know where the human rights activists are now. They should be here to help this poor boy get the required justice. This is absurd,” added Woodworth, a Malawian born British national.

Jimmy Maloya told Nyasa Times in a telephone interview minutes before thrown into the prison cell that he was being arrested because of some property left by his late brother which his widow is claiming.

“They told me to give back some property to the late Hastings widow and gave me 48 hours which was impossible as some of the things were taken by an aunt to the children of  my late brother from his first marriage who stays in Lilongwe and some property is with our father.”

“People should understand that the late Hastings’ widow was his second wife and he had two children before he married her less than two years ago and they did not have any child and the family felt that some of the property should be with the aunt of the children in Lilongwe to support one of the late Hastings’ biological children. I am looking after one of the children as well and now I really don’t know what is happening now,” said Maloya.

“I paid court fees of K2,000 to have the signed court order so that I must appeal but I can’t just be given the order, I wonder if this is how justice is being administered in this country,” added Maloya.

The late Maloya was a well known journalist with a passion for the environment and was working at Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT) and was also a member of the Mulhakho wa Ahlomwe.

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