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Police in Mchinji Wednesday night arrested two men in connection to the murder of a watchman, Alimakiyo Mshanga, on the night between January 3 and 4 on his duty station at a shop.
Mchinji Police Spokesperson, Sub. Insp. Moses Kajawa Nyirenda, identified the two as Benjamini Banda, 22, of Guwende Village T/A Khombedza, Salima, and Steven Chagunda, 35, of Zandana Village T/A Mlonyeni, Mchinji.
The two allegedly murdered Mshanga, 87, on the said night at a shop belonging to a businessman, Mr. Chisa Chidandale, where the old man worked as a watchman.
Banda and Chagunda then broke into the shop and went away with over 100 pieces of cloth (zitenje) worth over half a million Malawi kwacha, according to Nyirenda.
Mshanga’s body was found dumped at a distance of about 50m away from the shop and postmortem conducted at Mchinji District Hospital revealed that death was due to asphyxia resulting from strangulation.
“The two were arrested on Wednesday at Kapiri Trading Centre after intensive investigations by our CID officers,” explained Nyirenda.
“We eventually got a tip that someone was going door to door selling Zitenje within the surrounding villages and the officers did not hesitate but arrest him. The two have since admitted to have taken part in the murder of Mshanga.”
The police have since recovered 30 pieces of the stolen cloth and investigations are still going on because, according to Nyirenda, the suspects are also connected to other theft and breaking cases.
Banda and Chagunda will appear before court soon to answer murder charges contrary to section 209 of the Penal Code.
The deceased, Mshanga, hailed from Mgubo Village in area of Traditional Authority Zulu in Mchinji District.
In December last year, police in the district also arrested three men for allegedly murdering 96-year-old Tsekwe Kwachera, a watchman at Destiny Kindergarten in the district.
According to Nyirenda, the prime suspect, Lyson Phiri, 23, admitted to have beaten Kwachera to death with a metal object before removing his private parts and dumping the body in a well near the kindergarten.
The police said Phiri named Vincent Gwiriza, owner of the kindergarten, and a teacher, Amos Nkhwangwa as his accomplices.
Phiri, Nkhwangwa, and Gwiriza are all at Maula Prison and they are yet to appear before court to answer murder charges.mana
