By Burnett Munthali
Vice President Dr Jane Mayemu Ansah has visited Deputy Inspector General of Police Dr Noel Kayira at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital after the senior police commander was wounded during an operation that led to the rescue of abducted British national Nusrat Jiwa Osman.
Kayira was shot on Thursday when police moved on a location in Mpemba where Osman was reportedly being held. Gunfire was exchanged between police and suspected abductors during the operation before Osman was recovered safely.
Kayira was subsequently taken to Mwaiwathu Private Hospital for medical treatment, where Ansah visited him on Friday. The Vice President was joined by other senior officials, including Minister of State Chimwemwe Chipungu and Blantyre City Deputy Mayor Gelard Lipikwe.
The operation ended a six-day search for Osman, 47, who was abducted in Blantyre on September 11. Her disappearance triggered a major police investigation and a K30 million reward for information leading to her safe recovery and the arrest, prosecution and conviction of those responsible.
The latest development has shifted attention to the circumstances of the rescue operation and the reported shooting of Kayira, one of the country’s senior police commanders.
According to the information available, Osman had been taken to Mpemba, where police eventually located her. Investigators are now working to establish the full circumstances surrounding her abduction, her captivity and the confrontation that occurred during the rescue.
The identities of the suspected abductors, their motive and whether arrests have been made have not been fully established in the information publicly available.
The Malawi Police Service is expected to provide further details about the operation, including the circumstances in which Kayira was wounded and the current condition of the suspects, if any were injured or detained.
Ansah’s hospital visit comes as Osman is reunited with her family following days of uncertainty. Her rescue has brought relief to relatives and heightened public attention on the police operation that secured her release.
The case has also drawn international interest because Osman is a British national originally from Leicester. Her abduction and subsequent rescue have been reported beyond Malawi, placing the country’s law-enforcement response under wider scrutiny.
For the Malawi Police Service, the immediate priorities are now clear: support Kayira’s recovery, establish the full facts surrounding the rescue and identify and bring to justice those responsible for Osman’s abduction.
The successful recovery of Osman has ended the immediate search for the missing British national. But the investigation into who abducted her, why she was targeted and what happened during the armed confrontation in Mpemba is continuing.
