A sworn statement by Frank Chawanda alleging that former Local Government Minister Richard Chimwendo Banda attempted to have him killed is drawing intense public scrutiny, with social media commentators questioning its plausibility.
Chawanda, 45, from Kaumphawi Village in Traditional Authority Nsamala, Balaka District, has sworn that the alleged plot against his life stemmed from his dismissal from the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) National Executive Committee in December 2021, a decision he says he intended to challenge at the next NEC meeting.
In the statement in circulation, Chawanda recounts that on February 11, 2022, he drove to the MCP Headquarters in Area 40, Lilongwe, after learning that an NEC meeting was taking place.
Upon arrival, he claims a security guard denied him entry, allegedly warning him that Richard Chimwendo Banda, who was MCP Director of Youth at the time, would kill him and bury him within the premises if he insisted on entering. According to Chawanda, moments later the guard made a phone call and five men approached him in what he interpreted as a hostile manner.
Fearing for his safety, he says he fled the premises in his vehicle, only to be followed by two cars from Lilongwe through Kenyatta Drive, Presidential Way and onto the M1 Road. He further claims the vehicles continued trailing him through Nanjiri, Dedza, Lizulu, Ntcheu and up to Chingeni.
At Chingeni, Chawanda says he made a U-turn to confront the situation but could no longer see the vehicles, although he believed they were still nearby.
The statement further alleges that after diverting towards Madisi in Dowa District, a Toyota Land Cruiser bearing a ministerial flag and said to belong to Chimwendo Banda suddenly blocked his vehicle.
“The same five men I had earlier seen at the MCP Headquarters emerged from the vehicle, forcibly removed me from my car by the neck, blindfolded me, tied my hands, and forced me into their vehicle. That while inside the vehicle, I heard the men stating that, on the instructions of Hon. Richard Chimwendo Banda, I was to be killed and my body disposed of,” reads part of the statement.
He says he was severely beaten and later abandoned in an unknown location in Madisi, where he was left for dead, but was later rescued by well-wishers, who helped photograph his injuries using his mobile phone, before he was taken to Madisi Mission Hospital for treatment.
He says he later reported the matter to the Madisi Police Station. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the statement has triggered doubts among legal practitioners and members of the public, particularly after it began circulating widely on social media.
Writing on Facebook, renowned lawyer Silvester Ayuba James, publicly questioned the credibility of the statement, describing it as problematic and raising concern about whether it could reasonably form the basis of police action.
“Bola ija ya Kaka Cassim Chilumpha malemu aluso anaikunga bwino. Iyiyi yawapeta kwambiri. It’s embarrassing, to say the least. And an abuse of public resources. Even the dumbest village headman in Limbuli cannot believe that bundle of lies. Ngati consultant wake walandira kale, nde kuti wakuombani maguy; wadya za ulere. Kutitola uku aMalawi,” he wrote.
Another social media commentator, Luke Malembo, echoed similar concerns, also questioning the authenticity of the statement and whether it is genuine or fabricated.
