Police in Chitipa on Wednesday arrested 18 people for breaking into shops and stealing various items during last week’s demonstrations in the district.
Public relations officer for Chitipa Police Gladwell Simwaka said the looters broke into shops such as Kulima Gold, Chitipa District Council old chamber (used as stores for Chitipa Magistrate’s court), Smallholder Farmers Fertilizers Revolving Funds of Malawi (SFFRFM), Meru Gold, Export and Trading Group of Company (ETG) and Chinese shops in the district.
According to Simwaka, on the day of the protests, a group of people called concerned citizens gathered at Chitipa Trading Centre where they eventually started blocking roads and burning tyres.
As that was not enough, the group went further by breaking into shops and stealing various items.
Some of the stolen items are iron sheets, cement, fertilizer, assorted groceries, mattresses, building materials and cooking oil.
The suspects will appear in court soon to answer charges of breaking into a building and committing a felony therein which contravenes Section 311 of the Penal Code.
