The eight Tanzanian nationals who were arrested on 20 December, 2016 at Kayerekera Uranium Mine Site in Karonga the northern border district of Malawi, have been on Tuesday denied bail by the Mzuzu Chief Resident Magistrate Tacious Masoyamphambe.
The eight Tanzanian nationals entered the court without their lawyer Tadala Tembo who damped them at the eleventh hour without a known reason.
Despite being damped by their lawyer, the suspects demanded the court to bring their fellow Tanzanian national to be the interpreter saying “the one who is interpreting here is failing to pronounce some words.”
The court which held in Karonga had no choice but to hire an interpreter from Misuku magistrate court in Chitipa district.
“Your worship, we were expected to have our lawyer but we don’t know what happened. It will therefore be difficult for to find another lawyer to represent us especially if we continue stay in the hands of the police. We therefore asking this honorable court to give us bail and we are ready to follow its conditions,” said the suspects.
However, the police through the director of legal services Mwayi Kaluwa argued that the suspects are foreigners, a development which will make them difficult to be traced.
“Apart from being difficult to be traced, the group will jeopardize our investigation especially if given bail,” said Kaluwa.
Mzuzu chief resident Masoyamphambe concurred with the police and then ruled that the suspects should continue be in the hands of the police till 26 January, 2017 when the case will be in the court.
The eight arrested are suspected to be sent by the Tanzanian government to investigate if Malawi government is creating nuclear weapons at Kayerekera mine site.
