Well-known pathologist Dr. Charles Dzamalala has appealed the ruling the ruling made by the board of the Medical Council of Malawi (MCM) on the autopsy error on the death of late Kottana Chidyaonga.

MCM board found Dzamalala guilty for declaring that Chidyaonga died of termic poison in 2020.

Dzamalala has confirmed of the development in a statement seen by this publication.

“I, Dr Charles Dzamalala, wish to inform the general public that I have instructed my lawyers, Naphambo and Company, to appeal against the Medical Council of Malawi (MCM) Board’s determination on the case of the forensic autopsy report of late Kottana Chidyaonga which I produced on 13th January, 2020 and which was the basis for a court process in August, 2020. Since the MCM Board’s determination on this case, there has been a media frenzy and multiple sources of misinformation,” said Dzamalala in the statement.

Dzamalala hinted that he still stand by his autopsy report on Kottana’s death.

“I still stand by the said forensic autopsy report that the death of late Kottana Chidyaonga was due to toxicity as a result of aldicarb (termik) poisoning. The autopsy features in the body of late Kottana Chidyaonga were generally those of toxicity. In particular the stomach which bore the brunt of the visible effects of toxicity demonstrated patches of mucosal erosions and haemorrhages consistent with close contact with a toxic substance. This finding indicated that the toxic substance entered the body through the ORAL route (mouth); it was ingested. Laboratory testing of collected body fluids and tissue specimens confirmed the finding of aldicarb in the tissue and fluid specimens.

“The history of events leading up to the time of death did not dispute death by termik poisoning. Termik kills.The specific timing depends on a number of things; including amount of ingested termik,individual’s body weight and contents in the stomach such as amount and type of food which may influence absorption rates. These factors also influence the timing of symptoms and signs the patient presents with. Deaths therefore may occur within minutes or after a few hours,” added Dzamalala.