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	Catholic Priest Sex Case: Accuser Rejects Summon By Edwin Nyirongo Nation Online [Malawi] March 2, 2006 http://www.nationmalawi.com/articles.asp?articleID=15440 A man who is accusing a Catholic priest, Father Michael Singini, of having sex with his wife on Wednesday disowned the summons that was read at the Rumphi Magistrate Court saying it did not reflect what he had told the court clerk. The summons which was read in court said the complainant, Winrichi Chinula, found the defendant in a bedroom during the night and that he (Chinula) wanted compensation. Chinula claimed that he told the court clerk that he found the Catholic priest committing adultery in a bedroom and wanted compensation. "Your Worship, what has been read in this court is that I found my wife in the [priest's] bedroom at night and that I wanted compensation. But what I told the court clerk was that I found them committing adultery at night in the bedroom and I wanted compensation. The word committing adultery is conspicuously missing there," Chinula told First Grade Magistrate Julius Kalambo. When asked if he had seen the summons, the complainant denied to have been given one, saying he was actually waiting for it. Lawyer representing Father Singini, Wapona Kita, asked the court to dismiss the case with costs saying the complainant should file a new one if he wished. Magistrate Kalambo then dismissed the case with costs and also advised Chinula to file a new summons which he did instantly. But Chinula, who did not have a lawyer, complained to the magistrate that he found it difficult to bear the cost of the dismissed case because it was not his mistake. The magistrate agreed. After the case, defence lawyer demanded K12,000 for fuel from and to Lilongwe, K5,000 for accommodation and food in Rumphi, K25,000 for his five hour professional fees and K5,000 for telephone and secretarial expenses, totalling K47,000. But Magistrate Kalambo noted that best rooms in Rumphi cost less than a thousand and that meals are reasonably fair. He pegged the cost at K1,500. He also said that being a rural area, the professional fees should be K3,500 per hour. The total was K36,000. Kalambo noted that it was a mistake on the part of the court not to show the complainant what was written on the charge sheet. "It was a mistake on the part of the court not to send him the summons so that he could verify the contents and we accept the blame. But you [the plaintiff] could have troubled yourself to make sure that you see how the summons were written. "But I still understand that since you are a lay man in the legal world, I will consider that as well in mitigation," he said. The magistrate then ordered that Chinula should pay only a third of the cost because his portion of the blame was minimal. After the final judgment, Chinula told the magistrate that he wanted to file a new summon but he advised him to write it himself. The court is yet to set a new date for the case. Chinula is claiming that he found Father Michael Singini having sex with his wife Judith at the parish house at night. While the priest admitted that Judith was at his house at the particular date and time, he insists she was there to answer an international call.
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