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–A Zambian prisoner who died in Malawi’s Kamuzu central hospital has been buried in Lilongwe.
The prisoner, identified as Richard Sakala 27, of chief Chinaka’s area in Petauke district of Eastern Province, was serving a six year long jail sentence in a Malawian prison when he died.
First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Mission in Malawi, Chansa Kabwela disclosed this to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Lusaka today.
Ms. Kabwela said Sakala was convicted of theft and burglary on December 16, 2011 by the first grade magistrate’s court in Mchinji.
The Malawian first grade magistrate’s court in Mchinji then sentenced Sakala to six years for burglary and two years for theft, both sentences to run concurrently.
According to prison authorities, Sakala was due to be released from prison on December 15, 2017 but was given a remission of two years and would have been freed on December 15, 2015.
The deceased, who resided in Mchinji in Malawi before his imprisonment, was earmarked for transfer to Zambia where he was expected to complete his sentence in line with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was signed on September 13, 2009 between the Zambia Prisons Service and the Malawi Prisons Service.
And Zambia Deputy High Commissioner to Malawi Henry Ngilazi has reiterated his call for enhanced closer cooperation and timely exchange of information to ensure that prisoners serving in Zambia and Malawi are well taken care of.
Mr. Ngilazi praised the Zambia Prisons Service, their Malawian counterparts and the Eastern Province administration for working closely the Commission in locating Sakala’s relatives in Zambia.
He said this when a delegation of prison authorities from Zambia, Malawi and the deceased’s relatives paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Lilongwe.
Mr. Ngilazi regretted the untimely death of Sakala before he was repatriated to Zambia so that he could continue serving his sentence.
“On behalf of the mission, I would like to express our sincere condolences on the death of our brother Mr. Richard Sakala. We wish the family God’s divine guidance and protection during this mourning period,” he said.
And head of delegation and Zambia Prison Service Eastern Region Headquarters Chief Inspector, Peter Chisanga, explained that the team had travelled to Malawi with the relatives of the deceased because they had an obligation to ensure a decent burial for Sakala.
Earlier, family representative Joseph Nyangu thanked the Zambia High Commission for the assistance rendered to Sakala’s family.
Sakala was buried at Lilongwe’s Biwi cemetery.
