In Chiradzulu,six people are in police custody for allegedly being involved in mob justice which led to the death of Edison Libukama on suspicion that he stubbed his brother in marriage Elias Bamus with a knife on the chest.
According to Public Relations Officer(PRO) for Chiradzulu Police Constable Cosmas Kagulo, the suspects have been identified as Masautso Bamusi aged 35, Amosi Mulore aged 24, Simon Mtotoka 53 aged, Simeon Bamusi aged 42, Paul Fisher aged 48 and Henry Pensulo aged 41, all from Likalawe village Traditional Authority(TA) Kadewere in the district.
Kagulo said that, “Investigations have revealed that on July 28, 2023, at around 05:00 hours, Edison stubbed Elias Bamus who was on his way to the garden”
“Edson was then taken to Likalawe village head man who advised them to report the matter to Thumbwe Police, but on the way, they severely beaten him to death and set him ablaze,” he added.
According to Kagulo, later, the body was buried by same mob without reporting the matter to the police.
However, on August 1st, 2023, rumours were all over the area and police made a follow-up on the matter that made the Criminal Investigation Detective Officers to arrest the suspects after investigation.
Upon Postmortem, results from Chiradzulu District Hospital revealed that the death was due to internal bleeding due to head injuries and burning wounds he sustained after being burnt by fire.
The suspects are expected to appear before court soon to answer charges leveled against them.
The Malawi High Commissioner to the UK Dr Thomas Bisika has applauded Charity riders who are riding a 500 mile journey from London to Glasgow in support of Malawi education. The riders were seen off by the High Commissioner at the start of their journey. They are riding for ‘Think Malawi’ a charity supporting grassroots education initiatives in Malawi.
The Charity bike ride has been dubbed Pedal with a Purpose charity cycle ride. The riders have departed London on Saturday 5 August 2023, and will ride 80-110 miles per day for six days in order to reach Glasgow on 10 August. They are scheduled to arrive during the World Cycling Championships which are taking place in Glasgow, and are planning a big party on arrival.
Alastair Boon, 26, from Brixton, Alex Bascetta, 29, from Peckham and Steve McInerny, 47, from Herne Hill started the ride at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and are due to cross the finish line on Thursday at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow
Dr Bisika with the cycle riders that are raising funds to improve education in Malawi
In his statement Dr Bisika wished the riders the best of luck and applauded them for raising funds to support Malawi education “I wish the riders the best of luck on their ambitious cycle ride. I’m very happy that through this project, so many Malawians based in the UK are supporting this event. This in turn enables Think Malawi to fund education projects which are run by Malawian organisations, a virtuous circle which benefits thousands of children in Malawi. I hope that the British public will give their support as well to this worthy endeavour.” Wrote Dr Bisika.
According to Mr McInerny, founder and trustee of Think Malawi, the goal is to raise £25,000, which will make a significant impact on the educational lives of Malawian children.
The funds raised from the cycle will be used to support Think Malawi’s grassroots education projects in Malawi.These initiatives range from making reusable sanitary pads available, enabling girls to stay in school, building desks to innovative remote learning projects.
The ride has already raised over £4,000, and the riders hope to increase this during the course of their trip.
Nyasa Big Bullets on Saturday, held on by a thread to keep their hopes of defending the FDH Cup title alive as they came from behind to draw 1-all against Extreme FC and cruise to the semifinals after winning 4-2 on post-match penalties
In a match played at Civo Stadium, the Mchinji-based side looked more determined to cause a huge upset as they played ‘extremely’ well especially in the first half.
Gregory Mwase put the hosts ahead just 20 minutes into the game after a lapse in Bullets defense.
Ephraim Kondowe
Following the goal, Extreme continued to pile pressure on the defending champions as Beston Jimu, Justice Honde and Mwase pressed hard to extend the lead but Bullets defense tried their best to avoid further embarrassment.
In the second half, Bullets made a number of changes but still failed to get the back of the net as Blessings Juma in goals for Extreme was always alert to deny the Ndirande outfit an equaliser.
Just when everybody thought it was going to be the end of the road for the People’s team, substitute Ephraim Kondowe had other thoughts as he scored just a minute before the end of the regulation time to force the game into penalties.
Kondowe equalized with a stunning header after receiving brilliant pass from MacFarlane Ngwira.
During the penalty shootout, Bullets scored their penalty kicks through Precious Sambani, Precious Phiri, Clyde Senaji and Nickson Nyasulu as Thokozani Mwangata and Chikondi Chasowa missed their spot kicks for the hosts.
After the match Extreme FC’s shot-stopper Blessings Juma was voted man of the match for his extraordinary performance.
Bullets will now face the winner between Dedza Dynamos and Moyale Barracks in the semifinals.
In another FDH Cup match, Mafco FC cruised into the semifinals after beating Bangwe All Stars 5-4 on post match penalties.
The match that was played at Mpira Stadium ended goalless in regulation time as Mafco finished the match with 10 men following a red card on Mphatso Filimoni in the second half.
Auspicious Kadzongola scored the last penalty for Mafco after Blessings Kameza saved Yamikani Mologeni’s penalty.
In another FDH Cup fixture, on Sunday, Dedza Dynamos will host Moyale Barracks as Mighty Mukuru Wanderers play Zingwangwa United and the winner will play Santhe Admarc.
Precious SambaniBlessings Juma receiving a man of the match award
The battle was Intense. The DPP regime was geared to do whatever it takes so that they can rule the country for many years to come. The Malawi Opposition parties had reached the plateau and it was obvious ,toppling the Mutharika regime needed an extra factor. The heavens smiled for the Malawi Opposition parties. Arise was the coming together of civil societies through the group Human Rights Defenders Coalitions (HRDC), the hardcore young minds led by Timothy Mtambo who without fear faced the DPP regime head on and galvanised Malawians to take to the street and demand their human rights. If the DPP government was able to silence the opposition Parties, they quickly realised it was difficult to silence the people power movement led by HRDC.
It’s been three years down the road since The Tonse Administration took office. My question today is Where is Timothy Mtambo? The hero who helped bring the change, who abandoned his civil society role to come in the open and galvanised Malawian in voting for Tonse Government is somehow missing from the government.
Bold and Fearless: Mtambo
The Fight against DPP as the elections approached in 2020 had three distinct names that stood out. First was President Chakwera who was to lead the Tonse Alliance. And there was Saulos Chilima, charismatic and popular leader among the youths who played a key role is dismantling the DPP party as he had just left that party and formed his UTM party and then there was Timothy Mtambo, leading HRDC and giving power to the people to go on the streets and demonstrate against the then DPP regime.
It was no surprise that when President Chakwera ascended to power , he felt the need to include Timothy Mtambo in his cabinet. The man who gave DPP no peace was given the role to become Minister of Civic Education and National Unity. Mtambo proved to be a hard worker but as time went on, it was proving to be a misplaced talent. The National Unity Ministry had the least funding of all the ministries. He did what he could with the little that was on his plate. Many believe Mtambo could have been well suited as. Homeland Security Minister or Local Government Minister. Anyway, eventually Mtambo , the DPP nemesis was dropped from the cabinet and now left in the cold.
What hasn’t changed though is that the performance of Tonse Government will either bring peace or abundance of hate for Mtambo. When the Tonse Government isn’t performing, Mtambo keeps taking the blame. Because he led the people power movement, many that went on the streets demonstrating with him feel he had betrayed them and lied to them. Many Malawians are regretting supporting the Mtambo movement in the toppling of Mutharika regime. This regret and anger is channelled towards Mtambo.
Mtambo’s problem is that he is answerable to Malawians for the change that he helped to bring. Mtambo has to answer for the failures of the Tonse Government. I find this challenging but also not fair that the man(Mtambo) who is hounded on social media and wherever he goes and blamed for removing Mutharika and DPP from power is now left out and has no say in the running of the Tonse Government.
So as Mtambo is now out of the government. No longer a Minister or in any position to influence the policies of the Tonse Government, many are wondering what’s next for him. He still remains a figure of hate for the many Malawians not satisfied with the Chakwera regime who continue blaming Mtambo for the underperformace of the current regime.
If the world was fair and if the political stratosphere was meant to have people who remember and honour those who did put their lives on the line for them, Mtambo was supposed to still be at the helm of government. He is answerable to many Malawians and the Tonse regime will always be tied to his name. If the Tonse Government fails, Malawians will not forgive Mtambo ,at the same time ,the dilemma is that what can he do to help Tonse Government deliver when he is out of government?
