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Tanzanians ’carjack’ Malawian magistrate
2005-08-17 08:42:19
By Lucky Mkandawire
Police in Malawi have arrested two Tanzanians for allegedly kidnapping a magistrate in the Northern Region city of Mzuzu before stealing his official vehicle last week.
According to yesterday’s edition of The Nation newspaper, the two, identified as Edwin Exasi Simkoko and Frank Kashiri, were arrested after the public tipped off the police.
The paper, quoting the Northern Region Police spokesman, John Namalenga, reported that the police and the suspects exchanged fire at the latters’ residence, located near the city.
The suspects surrendered after the police shot one in the shoulder and the other in the leg.
’’After we were tipped off by the public, our officers ambushed the suspects near their house at around 11pm and when an arrest was attempted, they opened fire, to which our officers responded,’’ said Namalenga.
The police spokesman said no officer was wounded, but the two suspects were disabled after the shooting and after a search in the house, a pistol and 14 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
Namalenga said that after interrogation, the two confirmed having attacked Mzuzu Chief Resident Magistrate Dingiswayo Madise and stolen his vehicle.
’’They have also revealed that one of them is at large and the vehicle was sold somewhere else,’’said Namalenga, adding that investigations were still on to trace the vehicle.
Three armed robbers abducted the Mzuzu Chief Resident Magistrate on the night of August 6, 2005. They tied his legs and hands and covered his mouth and then dumped him in a bush at a place called Kazuni in Mzimba district, several kilometres from the city.
In a related development, over the weekend, Mzuzu police also arrested another Tanzanian, identified as John Katawa, who was in the company of three other suspects during a raid on several homesteads in the city’s locations.
However, the police spokesperson said the four were not connected to the abduction of the Chief Resident Magistrate, but to a spate of other armed robberies around the town.
Details of the three Tanzanians were not readily available.
The Guardian’s efforts to find out if Tanzanian security officials were aware of the arrests proved futile yesterday.
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