Police in Dedza registered 54 murder cases in 2020, a big rise from the 29 cases registered in 2019.
The district breakdown of murder cases shows that in 2020, the parent station registered 36 murder cases compared to 24 cases registered in 2019, while Linthipe Police Post registered 12 murder cases compared to 4 similar cases registered in 2019 and Mtakataka Police Post registered 6 murder cases compared to 1 similar case registered in 2019.
Murder rate shows that in 2019, 4 people were murdered per 100,000 people, while in 2020, 7 people were murdered per 100,000 people.
Dedza Police Deputy Publicist Sergeant Cassim Manda has mentioned vigilantism as factor of that an emergency increase
He said the law enforcers have put in place strong measures to curb the malpractice.
In Dedza, one of the murders that shocked the nation last year was the killing of an elderly woman by villagers at Fumbwa village, T/A Tambala in the district. The villagers stoned to death the elderly woman after accusing her of practicing witchcraft.
