Police at Mponela in Dowa are keeping in custody a 46-year-old man for allegedly murdering his friend over beer.
The suspect has been identified as Josephy Phinifolo (51) while the victim is Mbirintengerenji Shuku.
According to the Deputy Publicist for Mponela police station Sergeant Macpatson Msadala, on 11 May this year the suspect went for a drinking spree with his friend named Mbirintengerenji Shuku.
Msadala said while the two were drinking, they started quarreling over beer which resulted into a fight. The then suspect hit Shuku on the head with a fist and he fell down unconscious.
Later, Shuku was taken to Mtengowathenga Mission Hospital for treatment where he died upon arrival.
Police visited the scene of crime accompanied by a medical officer who singled out head injuries as a cause of Shuku’s death.
The suspect was apprehended and will appear before court soon to answer a charge of murder which contravenes section 209 of the Penal Code.
Phinifolo hails from Chauwa village while the deceased hailed from Mkuziwaduka village, both under Traditional Authority Mponela in Dowa district.
In a related development, an unknown male person has been found dead in the district.
Msadala said that on 12 May 2020, a certain man went to cut reeds along Kasangadzi river and while there, he came across a dead body of an unknown person in a decomposed state with a rope on the neck.
This prompted him to inform the village headman who reported the matter to Mponela police station.
Following the report, police together with the medical officer from Mponela Rural hospital rushed to the scene, and the postmortem revealed that the death was due to suffocation secondary to strangulation.
However, police are still investigating to establish circumstances leading to his death.
