The Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by Malawian citizen Dennis Likonde to expedite his appeal against a conviction on possession of stolen goods and three year imprisonment.
Likonde was arrested in Kazungula in January 2023 driving a BMW car stolen in South Africa.
It is believed that he was in transit to Democratic Republic of Congo via Zambia.
He pleaded guilty before the Kasane Magistrate’s Court on 12 th January 2023 and sentenced to three years imprisonment the same day.
The Francistown High Court upheld the sentence and he appealed to the Court of Appeal arguing that the sentence was too harsh.
However, a panel comprising of Judge President Tebogo Tau,Dr Singh Walia, and Mercy Garekwe rejected the application for expedited appeal saying he did not follow procedure to have the matter before them.
“There is no notice of appeal, no grounds for appeal, and the documents before us do not carry the proper stamp. Everything about this appeal is wrong. For now, this court has no option but to strike it out,” said DrWalia supported by his colleagues.
This was despite an attempt by the Likonde’s attorney Tengo Rubadiri who tried to explain that there could be a mixup in the papers, adding that he followed all the rules for the appeal to be heard.
This means that Likonde will have to wait, or even serve the three years before his appeal can be heard next year or in 2026.
Meanwhile, Topase Joseph will also serve his 20 years imprisonment for murder after his papers were also found to be in shambles and his appeal thrown out.