Two men have been arrested in Dowa on suspicion of robbery and murder in Kasungu.
The men allegedly broke into, and stole K31.64 million in cash from, the Kasungu branch of Standard Bank and murdered a security guard, 55-year-old Redson Banda.
Inspector Esther Mkwanda, who is the Central East Region Police public relations officer, identified the two as Brian Maulana, aged 38, from Chabwera Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Liwonde in Balaka and Samson Daudi, 32, from Memo Village, T/A Makwangwala in Ntcheu.
She said Kasungu Police Station on the morning of October 27, 2022 received a report of the robbery and murder at the bank.
“Two suspects were later arrested by Dowa Police Station after they were involved in a minor road accident as they were trying to escape. Detectives from the region followed up the matter and the two suspects admitted to have taken part in the robbery,” Mkwanda explained.
The cash has not been recovered, but she said investigations are underway to recover it and arrest the pair’s accomplices who are on the run.
“We are, therefore, appealing to people in Kasungu to remain calm as we are doing everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book,” Mkwanda said.
Her appeal for calm comes in the wake of running battles between the police and irate people in Kasungu who are attacking shops belonging to foreigners, especially Burundians, after unconfirmed reports suggested that one of suspects in the robbery is a Burundi national.
Angered by the death of the guard, the people have taken matters into their own hands and have attacked foreigners’ shops, but the police are firing teargas to disperse them.
Kasungu main town and Chayamba Turn-Off are the hotspots of the attacks.
By 11am Friday, the situation remained tense, with police still firing teargas.
