High mud leader rar

I am more acutely aware of how important this work is and how lucky I am to participate in such an amazing project. She will hopefully convey visually what we are witnessing and thereby provide greater insight into both the beauty of this country and the deeply emotional work in which we are involved. It is strange how quickly one becomes connected to a place. There was a real sense of homecoming as we navigated around the dark and luminous storm clouds from Nairobi.

I had heard numerous stories about the joys of flying in the wet season in East Africa, but any sense of trepidation dissipated as soon as we saw the first glimpses of the shimmering blue vastness that is Lake Malawi. The sheer expanse of the lake that stretches down the East Coast of the country leads the unsuspecting to believe that there exists an ocean that has somehow been missed by cartographers.

It is a wondrous sight. Due to the complete lack of air traffic our pilot was able to veer off path, weaving his way around the black clouds that zapped electricity. The blinding sun flicked on and off as we surged past the tips of the storm cells.

The lake's shores at the southern end signal the coming of the Rift Valley. Immense plateaus are interspersed with barren hills and mountains which rise gradually out of the green and grey earth. Our oldest evolutionary ancestors were discovered in the East African Rift Valley and the sense of time passing is etched in this ancient geography.

Landing in Chileka, the "airport" in Blantyre that has been under refurbishment for over 2 years, confirmed that I was back in Africa. The heat, the humidity, the friendly faces.

I felt alive. I had remained connected with the progress of the resentencing project whilst away and was acutely aware there were various people, both inside and outside prison, that were eagerly awaiting my return.

I will give a quick reminder of the scope of the Kafantayeni project which takes up the majority of my time. In in the case of Kafantayeni , the High Court of Malawi ruled that the mandatory death penalty for homicide was unconstitutional. Thus, all people who had received this sentence were entitled to be resentenced. Malawi is a desperately poor and disparate country. Funding and resources cannot nearly cover the needs and rights of thousands of inmates. Such a ruling, while nobly intentioned and legally just, appeared set to remain unfulfilled.

The financial implications were immense. This would involve interviewing all those incarcerated for murder, making detailed investigations into their backgrounds, conducting health assessments and interviewing people from their villages. Malawi is a rural society with most people growing subsistence crops such as maize, potatoes and sugarcane. Tobacco is also produced in single plot farms for sale in local trading centres.

Thousands of small villages stretch up and down the country, from cool mountain plateaus in the southern area of Mulange to the searing shores of the lake in the northern area of Karonga.

This elongated country is linked by potholed dirt roads barely accessible even by a four wheel drive. Intense and continuous rains soak the land for 3 months a year, wreaking havoc on transportation routes.

It is easy to understand how daunting the challenge of visiting villages truly is. Inmates come from remote regions as well as the sprawling urban areas. Distances are huge. Petrol prices mirror that of Europe and Australia, costing double the price of beer per litre. Such expenses means travel time has to be carefully considered. The majority of case files were missing or incomplete. The passing of time had meant that many witnesses were deceased.

Police in charge of investigations had long retired. Inmates' recollection of events had undoubtedly become blurred, wretched conditions in prison accelerating memory loss. Such problems appeared insurmountable, yet through a broad coalition of stakeholders driven by a mutual interest in justice, a plan was ultimately devised. They are talented, dedicated women who have self-funded their stay in Malawi. They have been in charge of implementing the strategy for the resentencing project.

The strategy will incorporate the following :. This will be done through a careful analysis of the case file and by follow up interviews with inmates'. The cases will then be synthsized into summaries which will then be handed out to the Department of Public Prosecution DPP , defence lawyers and Magistrates.

Mitigating evidence collected from village interviews will be presented. These will run every month. During a full day of hearings in which up to 15 inmates' cases will be heard, both sides will hopefully come to a consensus on an appropriate sentence for the prisoner.

In some instances we envision that the decision will be for immediate release. These cases will put a far greater strain on resources and will involve witness testimony.

They may run for a few days. I can appreciate that the strategy explanation involves a fair amount of legalese. They will be highly emotional days, where men who have spent the bulk of their life in overcrowded, disease-ridden prisons, who have not seen their children for decades, will hopefully be released. We hope to record the reaction of those involved, particularly when they return to their villages and will share it on this blog.

The first round of Camp Court hearings begins next month, so we are on the cusp of an exciting phase in Malawian legal history. Having met many of these men and formed a relationship with some I now have a vested interest in the proceedings. I cannot wait for them to start. One of the first tasks that was of the utmost importance was the follow up interviews of inmates in Zomba Prison. Zomba is set in the mountains approximately a one hour drive north east of Blantyre.

The road winds slowly up from Limbe market on the outskirts of Blantyre through lush maize fields and bustling village markets. It is the former capital of the Central African Protectorate, as well as Nyassaland, both previous British incarnations of what is now Malawi. It remained the capital of Malawi until when it was switched to Lilongwe. The parliament remained in Zomba until , the creaking and dilapidated building now serves as the Court complex in the city.

It is a place with which I am becoming very familiar. I will detail their essential work in other sections of this blog. I will also profile some of the men and women who work tirelessly in assisting inmates attain Bail, contact families and generally support those prisoners who are, perhaps, the most desperate members of Malawian society. A few weeks ago I gained entry to Zomba Prison for the first time, with the goal of confirming that our list of prisoners eligible for resentencing was up to date.

This involved checking which prisoners had died, escaped or been released. I also aimed to interview six inmates with the hope of eliciting information that would be useful in mitigation hearings. Below are some of the personal stories inmates shared with me, as well as some recollections of my own experiences in the prison. The questions that are most commonly asked about my time in Malawi concern prison visits. What is it like? How are the conditions? How does it smell?

Are you scared? I will try to convey my emotions and attempt to give insight into these prison visits on this blog page. Zomba Prison holds over people. Though according to estimates should hold approximately It is an ageing, dilapidated, red brick complex that contains six different cellblocks, one for first-time offenders, one for juvenile offenders, two for recurrent offenders, one for women and one for condemned prisoners.

There is also a psychiatric unit attached to the prison which is notorious in the justice system. The complex is surrounded by farmland on which the inmates, charged with less serious offences, toil for hours under the high altitude sun.

I drove through the gates with Max and Boniface. They had forewarned the buana boss of the prison of my arrival and I was duly led into the decrepit facility. The smell as I entered, while not overpowering, still suggested that a sea of humanity lay just beyond the segregating wall. Sweat was perhaps the most pungent odour. However, if I am honest I expected a more immediate and confronting assault on my senses.

It was more than bearable. After greeting the Warden, who was efficient and cordial though never warm, I was led into an open, narrow courtyard where the inmates I had asked to see waited crouched on the dusty floor. Ranging from feeble, gaunt and sickly, to toned and vital. One striking similarity however, was the height of the inmates. No man would have been more than centimetres. Malnourishment is endemic in Malawi and it has created a stunted population.

Childhood hunger effects the brain and the body and I believe there it is not coincidental that these men showed the ravages of starvation. Their ability to make rational decisions may very well be affected. I sat on a twisted stool against a dirty wall and gazed down at the men before me.

Empathy was the overriding emotion I felt, but I was also well aware what crimes these men may have committed. I had read all their files, though at this stage did not know which inquisitive man represented which wretched tale. The two guards were milling around the yard and wandering back into the administrative block. As was Max my guide and translator. All of a sudden I was alone in the narrow yard with seven men, all convicted of murder.

No Guard. No Max. They stared up at me with a mixture of hope and distrust. Some had a deep sense of resignation etched in their sunken eyes. One inmate was painting a banner for his church. A sunset over the words "Jehoves Witness:". I ambled over to the men and was suddenly acutely aware of my overly formal attire. Suit with pointed shoes. Tone it down next time I resolved then and there. I approached the painter and to my complete astonishment he withdrew a perfectly shaped reefer from within his pocket and began inhaling with deep methodical draws.

Max had returned so I resumed my seat and called over the first inmate…. I will share the personal stories the inmates recounted with me in the next entry. August My work in Malawi owes its roots to a friend of mine from Wollongong called Emile Carreau. We met in Cannes where my brother Dennis ran a beachside bar, and soon realised we shared similar ideology and aspirations with regard to our careers.

He was however a good few steps ahead of me. At the time Emile worked for the Anti-Death Penalty Coalition, an organisation whose name encapsulates its purpose succinctly. Just as for Emile, Human Rights issues have been at the heart of my desire to become a lawyer.

The stories of abuse suffered by Iranian, North Korean and Chinese migrants amongst others affected me greatly. Perhaps the seeds of advocacy were planted there. After two years of intermittent correspondence with Emile I learnt that he was living and working in Malawi in south eastern Africa. Thus began a protracted journey which has led me Blantyre. She is an esteemed Defence Attorney in The United States, where she has represented over death row inmates.

She is an impressive woman. On first skyping with her I will admit that her reputation and CV affected my ability to fluently articulate my goals, skills and overall ambitions as a lawyer. What became evident in our first meeting was the centrality of cultural sensitivity. Having visited Kenya on numerous occasions where my father lived, I understood how integral this was. Awareness and respect of local ways on face value appears a straightforward undertaking. However, if ones objective is to achieve results in relatively short time, a more assertive attitude maybe needed which may in turn clash with indigenous methods.

This dichotomy is something I face on a daily basis. I sincerely hope I managed to express that in a politically correct manner. My understanding of local attitudes towards incoming m azungus white people is founded in a thorough comprehension of the historical reality of post-colonial Africa.

While Malawi did not experience the same level of violent struggle in achieving self-determination, as say Kenya, a deep suspicion of white motives is still prevalent. After the sheer level of plunder, murder and subjugation inflicted on Africa by mazungus , this appears to me to be an entirely understandable emotion.

Having expressed to Sandra this apparent understanding of the need for cultural sensitivity she explained the role she had for me in Malawi. Up until a conviction for murder in Malawi resulted in a mandatory death sentence. Normally, an intrinsic part of the trial process under the Common Law, is that after conviction, the defence put forward various reasons why the Judge should show leniency in sentencing.

Such factors include the context of the crime, for example when acting in response to an attack or prolonged abuse. Also relevant is age or mental illness, as well as many other considerations. Under Malawian Law pre this stage did not exist.

Once found guilty a prisoner was sentenced to death, if fortunate, they may have their sentence commuted to life imprisonment. As of there were 23 prisoners on death row in Zomba maximum security prison and approximately prisoners serving life sentences. In local lawyers assisted and funded by the Death Penalty Project, a legal Human Rights organisation based in London, won a landmark constitutional case when representing a man named Kafantayeni and five other plaintiffs.

The High Court of Malawi determined that the mandatory death penalty for murder violated the Malawian Constitution because it denied the Kafantayeni plaintiffs their right to be free from inhuman treatment or punishment, to have a fair trial and to access justice.

This affected all prisoners convicted of murder, and impacted on the hundreds of remandees awaiting trial throughout the country. The length of remand is perhaps the greatest issue the Malawi justice system faces. It is when someone has been charged often on very little or no evidence and is placed in prison awaiting trial. In Chichiri prison in Blantyre which I visit regularly, there are at least people awaiting trial for murder.

Some have been there up to 8 years. It is a truly shocking situation which I will discuss in more detail in later entries. What the Kafantayeni judgment ordered was that all convicted persons must be afforded the opportunity to show why their sentence should be mitigated. Essentially, every homicide inmate had an automatic right of appeal.

As you can imagine the level of work entailed in such a project is massive. In a legal system with little or no functionality, where 27 Legal Aid lawyers are expected to assist a population of 17 million, with no filing system whatsoever, such a legal edict was mere rhetoric without foreign assistance and funding.

Now this on first inspection would appear to be a relatively straightforward task. Armed with a team of local law students and a sheet of paper which contained a list of names, Emile set about locating the files of those inmates convicted of murder. It was indeed a herculean undertaking. Essentially, there is no filing system and no organised system of record keeping.

The High Court registries in Blantyre and Lilongwe are overflowing with scrappy, dog-eared files. Corridoors are lined with boxes in which contain any number of unordered manila folders. Cupboards are overflowing and floors are littered with the names of thousands. For months on end Emile and his crew sifted through every single folder, seeking a match with a name written before him.

To complicate matters, names are often spelt in numerous ways, and local custom is to give the same name to many people. Of the files Emile was searching for, he located 40 complete files and 50 or so incomplete.

The majority were lost in the ether of the Malawian criminal justice system. Whether this manifests itself in religious conviction or in some other form, hope is surely the nourishment that keeps you alive.

Hope that there is a structure in place that is working. Hope that there will be progress in your case, at least some form of advancement. The reality is that in a completely chaotic system it is more than likely that your file will never be located, your appeal never heard.

I will not attempt to fully explain why I think the situation is as it is. Examples of Emile's hard work :. This meant interviewing homicide inmates all over the country, driving to villages to talk to local elders, priests, family members and anyone who may shed light on the personal circumstances of the inmate.

I will be undertaking similar journeys in the near future, as we draft appeals for those affected by the resentencing ruling.

At the moment however, my work with respect to CIHR involves a thorough examination of existing cases and prioritising which case we should deal with first. A few weeks ago Sandra sent me five files of inmates on death row.

The personal stories I discovered within these cases are demonstrative of the issues of injustice that are endemic in the penal system. One appeal we are working on involves three juveniles, convicted of murder and sentenced to death. In separate trials the appellants were sentenced as adults despite the fact there is conclusive evidence that at the time of their arrest they were under 18 years of age. It is uncontested that Mtambo was only 16 years when he was arrested in and charged with the murder of his wife.

His underfunded and overworked lawyer would have seen his file that very morning. This is an inadequate amount of time to prepare a complex murder defence. Nevertheless, on August 15 Mtambo was convicted of murder and duly sentenced to death.

He has lost all contact with his family and contracted numerous diseases. He has been incarcerated for almost 16 years in appalling conditions. Dzimbiri was only 15 years old when he was arrested in and charged with the murder of his distant cousin the deceased.

Again, his age is not in dispute. The circumstances of the murder suggest a conviction of manslaughter or a complete acquittal could have been expected. Dzimbiri was involved in a struggle with the deceased and a friend of the deceased. The deceased was ultimately killed with a panga knife. The homicide was not aggravated, there was no premeditation and there is clear evidence of provocation on the part of the deceased.

Despite this, Dzimbiri was convicted of murder and the High Court imposed the mandatory death sentence as stipulated pre He has now served more than 13 years in an adult prison.

It is undisputed that Lemani was only 17 when he was arrested and charged with the murder of Kamwjne. Although his body was never recovered, Lemani and a co-defendant were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Introduced into evidence during the trial was a caution statement a signed document made after the police have informed the person of their right to silence confessing to the murder. At trial however, Lemani testified that he believed he was signing a bail application not a confession.

With the exception of this confession, all other evidence linking Lemani to the crime is purely circumstantial. Lemani has been imprisoned for over 10 years.

The three men who were 15, 16 and 17 at the time of their arrest have each spent between 10 and 16 years in adult prisons, in what can be described as inhumane conditions. I will discuss these conditions in more detail in a later entry, but it is accepted that a lengthy jail sentence is tantamount to a death sentence, with disease, hunger and violence a daily reality.

An appeal to correct this gross miscarriage of justice was filed with the High Court over a year ago. However, due to a bureaucratic bungle the paperwork was lost somewhere between the High Court and Supreme Court registries. There is no progress. The appeal has stalled. This tragic situation is not an anomaly but instead represents the status quo. The lawyer has given me a plethora of excuses as to why he has not acted more vigorously on their behalf.

I have spent countless hours waiting at the registry, ringing and harassing various people who theoretically have the power to reboot the motion, to locate the file. Having some knowledge of the conditions she works under, the fractured nature of communication between offices and the utter chaos that is the filing system, I have the utmost sympathy for her position.

Her intentions are noble, but the net result remains the same. Both Sandra and I are well aware that when a Judge finally sees the motion, the men will be granted freedom.

It is a watertight case, the men were boys. This understanding leads to anger, frustration but perhaps overwhelmingly a sense of guilt. The pervading sense of injustice can be all consuming. The next step will be to begin a media campaign here and abroad, and to perhaps take the case to an International Court.

This will however be a drawn out procedure, a long term project. All the while Mtambo, Dzimbiri and Lemani sit and wait, they have already been deprived of much of their youth and now they are fast losing their remaining years. June Upon landing I became overwhelmed with the enormity of this decision.

What am I doing? Having been taken for a ride both literally and metaphorically by the taxi driver from the airport, I could not locate anyone upon arrival at the lodge. A faint afternoon light and a pervading sense of sleepiness hung around the empty streets.

Eventually I was led to a dark room, two tiny beds and a powerful smell of damp greeting me. No hot water, in fact barely any water. This was always going to shock, you knew that. Walking around the lodge's various blocks I met one or two computer transfixed westerners. No chat there.

I wandered into town, first up a dusty road, then onto a major link to the city. The prevalence of gum trees and near silence felt strangely familiar. I could have been in the Southern Highlands, south of Sydney!

However, the infrequent flow of suited locals walking past me to the shanty suburbs that hugged the hillside and the procession of dusty barefooted children felt strikingly new.

However, it was the lack of bustle that was extraordinary, no matatus minibuses and no music. Near silence. Having been reading a history of Africa post independence, I have learnt that the country's first leader, Doctor Hastings Banda, held deeply conservative views enforcing his puritanical ideology on the fledgling country.

Hair length standards and harsh anti-homosexual laws are examples of the state's embryonic wowserism. Recent manifestations include women being attacked in the market for wearing pants. Little Glimmer by Dianas. The new album from the Chicago art-rock group is based on a series of recordings made on walks throughout Hong Kong in Bell of the beginning by Hazy Sour Cherry.

A delightful holiday treat from Tokyo indie pop band Hazy Sour Cherry includes a lovely cover of American 60s girl group the Pixies Three. Australian underground stalwart Tam Vantage returns with a new record of fuzzy and melodic indie rock, unembellished and high energy. Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp. No matching results. Explore music. Get fresh music recommendations delivered to your inbox every Friday.

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