Malawi Wire

High Court Judge Christie Liebenberg on Wednesday announced that sentencing in the Shannon Wasserfalll case, in which Azaan Madisia and Steven Mulundu were found guilty of the obstruction of justice, will be handed down on 13 June 2023.

During the sentencing mitigation in the Windhoek High Court on Wednesday, Liebenberg set the sentencing date for 13 June for Medisia and Mulundu who were charged with defeating or obstructing the course of justice. Madisia was found guilty on an additional charge of fraud.

The 22-year-old Wasserfall was reported missing in Walvis Bay on 10 April 2020 and her remains were found buried at the harbour town on 06 October 2020 after an anonymous text message was sent to the deceased’s father.

Madisia and Mulundu were subsequently arrested for Wasserfall’s murder, a charge they were acquitted of in a judgement handed down by Liebenberg on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, State Prosecutor Henry Muhongo called to the dock the deceased’s father, Tega Metheus, who described his daughter as a lovable and easy-going person.

He said that it is painful looking back and now knowing that during the six months the family spent searching for Wasserfall, Madisia was right by his side and lending a helping hand.

Source: NAMPA

Residents of Otjiwarongo should expect to pay more for their monthly municipal bills, effective, 01 July 2023.

The municipality’s rates and taxes will increase by three per cent, solid waste by seven per cent, water tariff by eight per cent, sewage services by six per cent and two per cent for cemetery services.

This was announced at a special council meeting held on Wednesday afternoon by the chairperson of the management committee Godhard Hoko, when he tabled the municipality’s N.dollars 183.1 million capital and expenditure budget for the 2023/2024 financial year.

“These average tariff adjustments have been proposed on water, property rates and taxes, refuse removal services, cemetery and sewer services,” he said.

At the same meeting, the Otjiwarongo deputy mayor, Julienda Kampungu said she was in full support of the budget as it solely focus on the needs of the inhabitants as the municipality ensures that its solid economic base is created.

Kampungu said out of N.dollars 183.1million tabled N. dollars 37,3 million if for capital projects while N.dollars 145,8 million is for operations and expenditures including the maintenance of existing infrastructure.

“Council will continue to subsidise pensioners and recipients of government social grants on their monthly bills for water, sewage and sanitation services provided by the municipality,” Kampungu said.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the municipality, Moses Matyayi in an interview with Nampa shortly after the budget tabling, defended the decisions made, saying the increases on the monthly rates and taxes as well as on water bills were based on the costs of service delivery to the residents.

Matyayi said the municipality’s approximately 9 000 households are still the major sources of revenue for the municipality through their monthly rates and taxes contributions, sales of land and water to the residents.

The budget will be forwarded to the Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni for final approval before it is implemented, he said.

Source: NAMPA

A one-year-old boy has died and 23 people are missing after a hippo hit their boat, capsizing it in Malawi’s biggest river, police say.

Rescue teams are searching for survivors, but hopes of finding anyone alive are fading as the accident occurred on Monday.

The boat was packed with villagers who were crossing the Shire River to work in their fields, as they normally do.

For reasons that are still unclear, a hippo attacked their boat this time.

BBC Africa Live: Updates from the continent

A total of 14 people managed to swim to safety or were rescued by other villagers who dived into the river to help.

But they failed to rescue the only child in the boat.

His body was recovered by the police maritime unit when it arrived to carry out rescue and search operations.

The accident occurred in the remote Nsanje district in southern Malawi, near the border with Mozambique.

“Officers have been on the scene since yesterday [Monday] when the accident was reported, searching for missing persons,” police spokeswoman for Nsanje district, Agnes Zalakoma, told the BBC.

Local MP Gladys Ganda has repeatedly called for a bridge to be built so that people do not have to risk their lives crossing the river in boats and canoes, but her appeal has so far fallen on deaf ears.

The Shire River is home to many hippos and crocodiles, and boats and canoes are often overcrowded or poorly maintained.

Vessels have capsized before, leading to villagers drowning. But it is rare to hear of a hippo charging at a boat in that part of Malawi.

Such attacks have taken place elsewhere in Malawi, including on fishermen.

Hippos tend to be territorial – and female hippos are known to be extremely aggressive, fiercely defending their young from any perceived threat.

They are the second largest land animal after elephants, and are estimated to kill about 500 people a year in Africa.

Male hippos weigh between 1,600kg (more than 250 stone) and 3,200kg, and females between 650kg and 2,350kg.

Source: BBC

At least 20 people are missing in Malawi after a canoe they were sailing in was hit by a hippo and capsized on the Shire River in the southern Nsanje region.

Robert Nayeja, a senior official in Nsanje District, said the canoe was carrying about 37 people going to their fields on the Mozambican side, state-owned MBC TV reported.

A body of an infant, who was among the passengers, has been retrieved.

Agnes Zalakoma, a senior police officer, has told the VOA that the death toll is expected to rise as detectives and rescue teams search for the missing people. So far, 13 people have been rescued.

A lawmaker for the area said the river was infested with crocodiles and hippos and the boats operating there were not motorboats.

The boat mishap is the third deadly accident on the river in three years.

Malawi is recovering from a devastating tropical storm in March that killed 511 people and left 533 others missing.

Source: BBC