Malawi mob justice: Suspected thief burnt to death

A suspected thief has been torched to death by an angry mob in the area of Chief Ndamera in Nsanje who accused him of stealing seven herds of cattle.

Police in the district have confirmed about the gruesome killing of a 32 year old Maxwell Chikoti who hailed from Mchacha village in the area of T/A Ndamera in Nsanje.

According to Nsanje Police Station Public Relations Officer,Surgeant Agness Zakoma,Chikoti was attacked alongside his two colleagues but they have managed to run away.

“It’s true that angry mob in the area of T/A Ndamera have torched to death Maxwell Chikoti,a resident of Mchacha village. What happened is that late Chikoti in conjunction with his friends were found with seven herds of cattle which are suspected to have stolen. And upon interrogating them the three began to run away. Unfortunately,late Maxwell was caught in the process and burnt to death”,narrated Surgeant Zalakoma.

The gruesome killing of Late Maxwell Chikoti followed a similar incident in which seven people were also torched to death by mob justice at Tengani Trading centre where until now nobody has been arrested.

Of late,Malawi has seen the rising cases of mob justice across the country in recent times which forced President Peter Mutharika to speak out against the plight. #

The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) Acting national Secretary, Martin Chiphwanya also added its voice to condemn mob justice and warned that people should not take matters into their own hands.

“It is worrisome to note that people have resorted to mob justice whenever the alleged cases of theft, robbery and witchcraft are reported in communities while we have courts and police officers,” Chiphwanya said.

Chiphwanya said law enforcement should make more of an effort to gain public trust so the public can desist from taking matters into their own hands due to distrust of the courts.