Taking One for the Team? Some Reflections on the Trial of Malawi's Hyena-man

Abstract

AbstractFollowing a public outcry about Eric Aniva being hired to have sex with children, he was arrested, tried and convicted of attempting to engage in a harmful practice and also of engaging in a harmful practice, contrary to Malawi's Gender Equality Act. Aniva's trial attracted significant public attention and highlighted kulowa kufa, the cultural practice at the centre of his trial. This article revisits Aniva's trial. By focusing on the operation of the law in judicial processes as well as the dynamics of judicial decision-making, it demonstrates and concludes that Aniva's trial may have been compromised. Specifically, the article analyses the state's failure to identify and parade material witnesses notwithstanding the alleged multiplicity of Aniva's victims, the role of the media in the trial as well as the probable effects of the trial court's selective recourse to international human rights standards.