The Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Blantyre has adjourned to 25 February 2026 a case involving a Dutch national, Jan Willem Akster, who is accused of engaging in non-consensual sexual acts, including sodomy, with young men in exchange for educational support.

The adjournment follows an announcement by the accused that he has appointed Michael Gona Chipeta as his new lawyer, replacing Fostino Maere, who ceased representing him after his appointment as the country’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Chipeta requested the court to grant him time to familiarise himself with the case records before proceedings resume.

However, public prosecutor Victor Jere criticised the move, accusing the suspect of a lack of seriousness, noting that he had about two months to identify an alternative lawyer after Maere’s appointment as DPP.

Commenting on the development, Executive Director of the Child Advocacy Centre, Memory Chisenga, expressed hope that the matter will be concluded soon, observing that the case has been dragging on since it commenced in 2020.