… Undamaged Mutharika portrait raises doubts
Thugs in Lilongwe broke into the office of Minister of Information, Civic Education and Communication Technology Mark Botomani where they vandalised property.
Pictures emerged on social media showing damage in the minister’s office and other offices.
Botomani told the local media that he was away and did not know the time when the burglary occurred. He added that the police were yet to visit the scene of the crime.
The incident occurred amid post-election protests which were characterised by violence acts such as breaking into shops and looting.
However, Malawians on social media noted that the burglars left a portrait of President Peter Mutharika intact on the wall in the minister’s office.
Some Facebook users suspected that the break-in was staged in order to pin the crime on post-election protesters.
“I wonder whether some of this looting of public offices is stage-managed. As some have pointed out, I cannot imagine looters who have broken into a cabinet minister’s office leaving APM’s portrait on the wall intact. The work of cadets, perhaps, to whom the master’s portrait is too sacred to violate? Social commentator Onjezani Kenani said.
Another Facebook user commented: “Glass tables left intact. You mean, they just went for the hard drives? If it was the demonstrators, the damage could have been very extensive.”
Musova