…smoked out after painstaking intelligence operation
…nabbed together with his Bishop
…charges include terrorising people and sexual harassment
…Gaza’s peaceful days are over
Security services in Malawi have arrested Putin over a string of alleged terrorising and inhumane attacks, including sexual harassment.
Putin was finally smoked out following a sustained intelligence-gathering operation likened to the painstaking hunt that led US Navy SEALs to Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011.
He was nabbed together with his Bishop.
Putin, whose real name is Trust Chuma, was arrested alongside three alleged accomplices: Henry Mujaya, nicknamed Gaza; Precious Banda, also known as Bishop; and Justin Nkuka, also known as Khamzy.
The group is believed to comprise underage street children aged between 12 and 17 who have allegedly been terrorising innocent passers-by in parts of Blantyre through violent attacks.
Videos secretly recorded at Ginnery Corner show members of the group allegedly intimidating and attacking people, as well as sexually harassing and groping women.
Some of their reported victims include students from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), who have allegedly had laptops, mobile phones and other gadgets snatched from them.
The arrests could bring some relief to people who regularly pass through Ginnery Corner and Blantyre CBD where residents and commuters have complained about groups of street children equipped with blades and other sharp objects attacking people, particularly after dark.
“They have blades and other sharp objects that they use on their victims,” one person told Malawi24.
One Facebook user described the fear associated with passing through the areas after 6pm or 7pm, claiming some of the children carry knives, machetes, razor blades and sharpened bicycle spokes.
“Ana amasikini ndi ana obvuta kwambiri amene ngakhale munthu wamphamvu zake amaopa,” part of the comment reads.
There have also been longstanding allegations that some street children in Blantyre and Lilongwe are exploited by politically connected individuals and used as political thugs to target opponents. However, there is no evidence currently linking the four arrested suspects to political actors.
For Putin, Bishop, Gaza and Khamzy, the arrests now put the allegations against them in the hands of law enforcement. And for Gaza, at least for now, the peaceful days are over as he spends his nights in the cooler, where Bishop may have other souls to reach.
