The name “Peter Nwachukw”  has been reigning notoriously for weeks now. He was the husband of the late gospel singer, Mrs. Osinachi Nwachukwu. 

Mr. Peter Nwachukwu was accused of causing the untimely death of his wife due to the constant domestic violence and physical assaults he melted on the wife at every slightest provocation. 

He even carried out these acts in the presence of the children and the children who stood as witnesses narrated to the police how their dad always beat up their mother till she died. Other witnesses who were friends and neighbors of the deceased also corroborated this report that indeed the husband always beat up the wife and the wife definitely died as the result of the beating she got from the husband. 

One of the neighbors said she always hears Osinachi screaming and her husband addressing her with derogatory words all the time. 

What will be the fate of Mr. Peter Nwachukiw at law if the autopsy report also corroborates this narrative that he caused the death of his wife? 

If the autopsy report shows that what caused the death of Mrs. Nwachukwu was the beating she received regularly from the husband then Mr. Peter Nwachukwu will be prosecuted and held liable to have murdered the wife. 

The statute highlighted some ingredients of murder or some circumstances in which murder will be said to have taken place in S.316 of The Criminal Code act:

316. Definition of murder

Except as hereinafter set forth, a person who unlawfully kills another under any of the following circumstances, that is to say?

(1) if the offender intends to cause the death of the person killed, or that of some other person;

(2) if the offender intends to do to the person killed or to some other person some grievous harm;

(3) if death is caused by means of an act done in the prosecution of an unlawful purpose, which act is of such a nature as to be likely to endanger human life;

(4) if the offender intends to do grievous harm to some person for the purpose of facilitating the commission of an offence which is such that the offender may be arrested without warrant, or for the purpose of facilitating the flight of an offender who has committed or attempted to commit any such offence;

(5) if death is caused by administering any stupefying or overpowering things for either of the purposes last aforesaid;

(6) if death is caused by wilfully stopping the breath of any person for either of such purposes, is guilty of murder

In the second case it is immaterial that the offender did not intend to hurt the particular person who is killed.

In the third case it is immaterial that the offender did not intend to hurt any person.

In the three last cases it is immaterial that the offender did not intend to cause death or did not know that death was likely to result.

To this effect, according to the provisions of S. 316 of the criminal code, if the autopsy report shows that the cause of death of Mrs. Nwachukuw was the beating she got from the husband then Mr. Nwachukwu will be said to have murdered the wife and the punishment for this crime is a death sentence or life imprisonment. So Mr. Nwachukwu could be facing a life jail term if he escapes death sentence. 

African startups are finding a new path in the food and agriculture sector, pushing to solve frictions that have accelerated the continent’s hunger crisis. This means creating tech-based mechanisms to grow plants, fight drought, preserve food products and mitigate waste.

For the market viability, investors are showing increasing interest in the African food industry, pumping millions of dollars into food-focused startups.

South African based Inseco announced that it has raised $5.3 million in a seed funding round led by Futuregrowth Asset Management with participation from E4E Africa, and Oak Drive Ventures.

“The investment into Inseco fits well within our responsible investment philosophy. In comparison to traditional protein sources, insect protein has an inherently lower environmental impact, as the process directly reduces food waste, involves minimal greenhouse gas emissions, limited water usage and makes zero use of arable lands. In addition to the strong ESG case, insect protein has a superior nutritional content, which results in higher feed conversion rates compared to traditional protein sources,” Amrish Narrandes, Head of Unlisted Equity at Futuregrowth said.

Inseco operates the biggest insect protein plant in the southern hemisphere. It is a 10 000 square metre (108 000 square foot) plant based in Cape Town that converts the larvae, known as maggots, of the black soldier fly into 100 tons of insect oil and meal a month. Insect products are high in nutrients and, because the process sees the maggots fed with waste, is seen as a climate-friendly way of feeding farmed fish, poultry and pets.

Fly eggs are produced at Inseco’s plant and then transported to where the waste is produced, either as a byproduct of a food-manufacturing process or so-called canteen waste, from restaurants.

“We are finding a new home for food products that would have been otherwise destined for landfill,” Simon Hazell, Inseco’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.

The meal is used to feed poultry and fish as a supplement to fishmeal, made from small fish netted in the sea, cutting down on its use, Hazell said. The use of insect protein boosts growth and it also has immune system boosting properties, Hazell said.

Inseco intends to increase its manufacturing capacity and fund ongoing research and development with this new investment. It also has plans to expand into the rest of Africa, Europe and the US.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, up to 35% of the food produced globally is wasted. This places a significant cost on economies and environments. In the South African context, the waste that ends up in landfills results in the production of carbon dioxide and methane gas. In addition, the global population is projected to grow substantially by 2050 and current food production systems will be unable to meet the growing demand.

Simon Hazell, Inseco’s CEO, identified insect farming as the perfect solution to these challenges and co-founded the company in 2017. “Now, more than ever, we’re seeing the importance of sustainability – and the responsibility that we have, to be a more resource-efficient society for future generations. At Inseco, we believe that insects will play an important role in this transition, becoming a widely available source of sustainable protein, and an important form of nutrition to help meet the food demands of the future.”