Wakili anamwakilisha mahabusu na anaandaa utetezi.

It can be split as:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present/imperfective marker
• -m- = him/her or a singular animate object
• -wakilisha = represent

So anamwakilisha means he/she represents him/her or he/she is representing him/her.

In this sentence, the -m- refers to mahabusu.

That -m- is an object marker, and Swahili often uses an object marker together with the full object noun, especially when the object is a specific person.

So:

• anamwakilisha mahabusu

literally has both the idea of him/her and the detainee, but natural English just says represents the detainee.

This is very normal Swahili usage with human objects.

Because object markers are much more common with definite or animate objects, especially people.

• mahabusu is a person, so -m- is very natural.
• utetezi is an inanimate thing, so no object marker is needed.

So Swahili is not being inconsistent here; it is following a very common pattern.

Good question. In this case, mahabusu is a borrowed noun whose form can be misleading. Even though it begins with ma-, here it refers to one person.

You can tell from the agreement:

• -m- in anamwakilisha = singular animate object

So in this sentence, mahabusu is singular.

This is a useful reminder that not every noun beginning with ma- is an ordinary ma- plural noun.

Swahili normally does not use articles like English the and a/an.

So:

• wakili can mean a lawyer or the lawyer
• utetezi can mean a defense or the defense

The context tells you which meaning is intended. In a sentence like this, English often uses the because the people and actions sound specific.

Because the subject is already built into the verb.

For example:

• a- in anamwakilisha
• a- in anaandaa

both mean he/she.

Swahili usually does not need a separate subject pronoun unless you want emphasis or contrast.

So instead of saying something like he represents..., Swahili can simply say anamwakilisha...

No, not in this sentence.

Swahili generally does not mark grammatical gender the way English does with he and she. So:

• wakili can be a male lawyer or a female lawyer
• a- can mean he or she
• -m- can mean him or her when referring to a person

The gender has to come from context, not from the grammar here.

Anaandaa breaks down as:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present/imperfective
• -andaa = prepare

So anaandaa means he/she prepares or he/she is preparing.

The two a’s happen because the prefix and the verb stem meet:

• a-na-andaa

Both vowels are written. You should pronounce them clearly rather than collapsing them into one.

Here na means and.

It joins the two actions:

• anamwakilisha mahabusu
• anaandaa utetezi

So the full sentence says that the lawyer does two things:

1. represents the detainee
2. prepares the defense

Utetezi is a noun meaning defense, especially in a legal sense.

It is related to the verb -tetea, which means to defend.

So:

• kutetea = to defend
• utetezi = defense

That makes anaandaa utetezi a very natural legal phrase: he/she prepares a defense or the defense.

It can do both, depending on context.

So:

• anamwakilisha can mean is representing or represents
• anaandaa can mean is preparing or prepares

In many teaching examples, English may choose one translation, but the Swahili -na- form is often broader than a single English tense.