LILONGWE, Sept. 27, (Xinhua/GNA) – Malawians are grappling with an increase in reported murder cases, raising fears of a potential security lapse within the country.
Confirmed murder cases have been reported almost twice a week since August, especially in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi, and the city of Blantyre.
Two university students in Blantyre were recently found dead in two separate days in townships near their respective colleges, while in Lilongwe, three cases have been recorded in September alone.
The victims include an employee of the Malawi National Assembly, whose body was found dumped near Lilongwe River on the morning of Sept. 13, and a sales manager for Coca-Cola beverages, who was murdered on Sept. 20 in Lilongwe and the body was found in the car he was driving.
Most recently, the body of a senior employee of the Reserve Bank of Malawi, the central bank, was found dumped in her own vehicle within Lilongwe Sunday after she was reported missing Saturday.
Elsewhere in Dowa, a town to the north of the capital, Lilongwe, two more deaths were reported this month, one of a fresh graduate whose body was found dumped in a well and another of a 75-year-old man who was murdered and dumped near a school premise in the area.
The death reports have since caused an uproar on social media with the Malawi Police Service (MPS) being called to duty to ensure the security of the people’s lives and their property.
The MPS has assured the public in a statement Monday that they are “zeroing in on the criminals” and they are “making positive headway to arrest suspects of Lilongwe’s two infamous murder incidents” where the bodies of the victims were found dumped in their respective vehicles.
The MPS is carrying out targeted intelligence-led operations to flush out all criminals, according to the statement, which was signed by MPS spokesperson Peter Kalaya. Meanwhile, Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma has dismissed the fears of security lapse in the country, pledging that authorities will get to the bottom of the crimes.
GNA