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Court Marshal Jailed for 3 Years for Forgery

Court Marshal Jailed for 3 Years for Forgery

The Zomba Chief Resident Magistrate's Court has convicted and sentenced a court marshal to three years imprisonment with hard labor for forging court documents in an attempt to release two convicts from Zomba Maximum Prison.

Police prosecutor, Peter Pilingu, told the court on Friday that 35-year-old Davie Saona who was working as a court marshal at Zomba High Court on November 18, 2019 forged court documents in an attempt to release two convicts, Lloyd Phiri and Imran Banda, who are serving their sentences at Zomba Maximum Prison for robbery charges.

Piringu said Saona forged a signature of Judge Zione Ntaba and others with an aim of releasing the two convicts on bail pending appeal.

"When Saona presented the documents to Zomba Maximum Prison, the officer on duty became suspicious of the signatures and informed his bosses before releasing the two.

"After checking with Zomba High Court, it was discovered that the documents were forged and police arrested Saona," Piringu told the court.

Five witnesses testified against Saona and the prosecutor asked the court for a stiffer sentence saying the offences were serious as they put the court's reputation in disrepute.

Lawyer for Muhammad of Chidothi and Company asked the court for a lenient sentence, saying he is a first offender and his conviction shows that he has lost his job and benefits after working with the court for 9 years.

Passing sentence, judge Mzonde Mvula who was sitting as Chief Resident Magistrate concurred with the state and sentenced Saona to 3 years imprisonment with hard labor for forging court documents and 14 months each for all the four counts.

"These sentences will run concurrently," said Mvula before the hammer.

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