Briton jailed for murder of wife in Malawi

The High Court’s Criminal Division in Lilongwe has sentenced British national Mohamed Shahid Iqbal Juma to 45 years in prison for the murder of his wife, Zaheera Jabbar Akbanie.

Akbanie, aged 35, a mother of three, was found dead at the couple’s residence in Area 9, Lilongwe, on December 19, 2018.

Juma was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with murder.

During the trial, the State, represented by Director of Criminal Litigation in the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dzikondianthu Malunda, presented evidence from several witnesses to support the case against Juma.

Juma made several unsuccessful applications for bail while on remand.

One of the applications prompted the court to question how he had managed to obtain a new British passport while in custody.

Presiding Judge Bruno Kalemba, after analysing evidence presented by both the State and the defence, earlier found Juma guilty of murder and convicted him.