THE CASE of Leonard Mondama, cook to the late Canon Rodney Hunter, and one of two men charged with his murder in Lake Malawi in November 2006, may come to court next month.
Mr Mondama, who has always protested his innocence, has been in prison for a year, while his co-defendant, Bernard Mlotha, a churchwarden at All Saints’ Cathedral, Nkhotakota, has been out on bail for a year. The charges were confirmed only two weeks ago by the High Commission in Lilongwe (News, 30 November).
Canon Hunter was a former USPG missionary. The General Secretary of USPG, Bishop Michael Doe, visited Mr Mondama in prison last month. He said on Tuesday: “We are pleased that after nearly a year in prison without charge, this case is now being brought to trial. We trust that Leonard, who worked faithfully for Canon Hunter for many years, and protests his complete innocence, will have a fair trial, and that the forensic evidence which is claimed to exist will finally be produced.”
Mr Mondama will have to fund his own trial. Should either of the accused be found guilty, they will have the automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court in Blantyre.