The Malawi Prison Service has dismissed as false social media claims alleging that suspects paraded by police in connection with the murder of Dr. Victoria Bobe are inmates from Chichiri Prison in Blantyre.
The service has described the reports as misleading and irresponsible.
Speaking in an interview, Malawi Prison Service spokesperson Steve Meke said none of the suspects presented by the Malawi Police Service are serving prisoners, stressing that the integrity of the country’s correctional facilities remains intact.
He said inmates are accounted for at all times and there have been no security breaches.
Meke urged the public to verify information with credible sources before sharing it, warning that the spread of unverified claims fuels unnecessary panic and undermines public confidence in security institutions.
The clarification follows a police investigative reconstruction exercise conducted in Blantyre, where six suspects linked to Dr. Bobe’s murder were taken back to the crime scene to demonstrate how the killing allegedly occurred and to clarify individual roles.
Among the suspects is Raphael Msalanyama Mano, a 35-year-old former police and intelligence officer from Mozambique.
Police also identified Charles Chikafa, Santos Chamamba, Raphael Rafik Abdul Hassan, Peter Chimenya, Isah Ali and Maxwell Eliya as part of the group under investigation.
Dr. Bobe was a respected obstetrician and gynaecologist who served as a senior consultant at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and a lecturer at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, where she trained future medical professionals.
She was fatally shot during an armed attack at her home in Chigumula, Blantyre, in November 2025, a killing that shocked the nation and continues to draw widespread calls for justice as investigations proceed.
