Kanengo Police in Lilongwe have confirmed that they conducted a search of the home of a female Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldier, identified as Sergeant Evelyn Msema, in Area 25 of the city, in an effort to recover a stolen vehicle.
This action was prompted by audio and video clips circulating on social media platforms which depicted professional police officers questioning a female soldier who appeared uncooperative and obstinate throughout the interrogation.
According to a police report, on January 7, 2023, the Mvama Police Unit arrested Lestina Nhlema, a loan shark living in Area 49, for allegedly confiscating a taxi driven by Amos Chombe.
The suspect was released on the condition that she would return the vehicle to Amos Chombe, but she failed to do so and avoided law enforcement.
During the interrogation, it was discovered that Lestina had given a loan of K3, 500,000 to Mphatso Mgusha who was unable to pay back.
On January 13, 2023, four police officers from the Kanengo Police station searched Lestina’s house to retrieve the vehicle.
When they arrived, they introduced themselves as police officers, asked for Lestina, but were informed that she was inside the house.
They sent a female officer to check, but Lestina did not come out, so they decided to check inside themselves and found that Lestina was not there, but instead they found Msema, who was uncooperative, and was not able to provide information about Lestina’s whereabouts.
They discovered that she was involved in the confiscation of the taxi. Msema was then asked to report to the Kanengo Police station the following morning to give a statement about the vehicle.
Kanengo Police denies the reports that the MDF soldier was manhandled, stating that during the interrogation, they were disappointed that a fellow law enforcement officer was defeating the ends of justice, but there was no physical assault of any kind.
As of Sunday, the vehicle was yet to be returned to its rightful owner.
