COURT TO SENTENCE PRESIDENTIAL GUARD OVER MISSING GUN

Following his conviction on Monday, presidential guard Mr. Kingsley Mpasu will be sentenced by the Lilongwe First Grade magistrate court on March 5.

Mr. Mpasu pleaded guilty to the charge of negligence by a public officer in preserving property after losing a pistol and twelve rounds of ammunition in February of this year.

The gun and ammunition are worth K288,500.

On Monday, defence counsel Wapona Kitta informed the presiding magistrate, Cecilia Onsewa, that the accused wanted the case re-started, to which the magistrate agreed.

Mr. Kinglsey Mpasu pleaded guilty to the charge of negligence by a public officer in preserving property after the charge was read to him.

The state prosecutor, Superintend Neppir Chafikana, then informed the court that Mr. Mpasu received the gun and ammunition on November 28, last year.

According to the state prosecutor, the items have not yet been accounted for.

Prosecutor Chafikana also told the court that Mr. Mpasu reported the missing gun to authorities on February 9th.

According to the prosecutor, the presidential guard told the Central Region police chief criminal investigator, Scotland Mvulagunda, that he may have lost the gun on February 8 in Lilongwe at Bwandiro.

According to the prosecutor, this was gross negligence on the part of a public officer.

Prosecutor Chafikana then told the court that, while the charges allow for a fine, the convict required a more severe custodial punishment because he was a presidential guard and that the missing gun still poses a security risk to both the president and residents of the state house.

In mitigation, Mr. Mpasu's defence counsel, Wapona Kitta, pleaded for leniency in the sentence to be passed, stating that he was a first-time offender, that his job was in jeopardy, and that the fact that he pleaded guilty saved the state from wasting a lot of resources prosecuting him.

He pleaded with the court to impose a fine that did not exceed the value of the missing items, which was two hundred and eight thousand and five hundred kwacha.

Cecilia Onsewa, a First Grade magistrate, scheduled her sentencing for March 5 of this year.

Mr. Mpasu, 38, is from Chipoka village in Mulanje district's Traditional Authority Mabuka.