Man dies after being shot by BWB guard

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A suspected thief died after a Blantyre Water Board (BWB) security guard shot him, police say.

Deputy Public Relations Officer for Limbe Police Station Widson Nhlane said the incident occurred on August 4, 2017.

He said the man who is yet to be identified by police was, together with four other men, caught stealing galvanised pipes at a BWB catchment in Blantyre.

“It was on August 4 at around 9pm when two security guards were on foot patrols within BWB catchment area and came across five unknown criminals stealing 200mm galvanised pipes,” Nhlane said.

Nhlane added that one of the guards shot in the air to scare off the criminals but the bullet accidentally landed on one of the suspected criminals.

The other four suspects ran away.

The wounded suspect was later taken to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the city where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The dead body is still at Queens awaiting identification.

Meanwhile, Police are searching for the other suspects and are investigating the shooting to establish what really happened.

Last year, BWB guards also shot dead another person from Ndirande Township who was found cutting down trees in the water board’s catchment area.

People have been cutting down trees and stealing things from the BWB catchment area despite various warnings from BWB.