Police in Karonga District have launched a manhunt for unknown assailants who murdered two Chinese in their shop at Karonga Boma on Monday night.
Karonga Police Station spokesperson Enock Livason said in an interview yesterday that the incident happened at LWH Investment Shop which the two—Ji Guihua, 38, and Liao Wanghui, 37—owned. He said they were also residing within the same building.
He said: “They were found dead in their shop where they were sleeping. Police visited the scene and took their bodies to Karonga District Hospital for post-morterm. Investigations are in progress. Meanwhile, no arrests have been made so far.
“The bodies are still at Karonga District Hospital mortuary. We are yet to establish if the criminals went away with anything after interviews with some of those who were working in the shop.”
In a statement yesterday, Chinese Deputy Ambassador Xiu Sheng Wang said the Chinese Embassy in Lilongwe has since asked the Malawi Police to conduct speedy investigations and arrest the suspects.
The embassy said it was shocked by the brutal murder of its nationals.
Reads the statement: “The case has been reported to the Malawi Police. The Malawi Police has deployed a special task team from the headquarters to investigate the case.
“The embassy is of the view that this murder is an independent criminal case and, therefore, requests the Malawi Police to investigate the heinous crime immediately and thoroughly and bring the suspects to justice as soon as possible.”
In an interview, Wang said they believe that the Malawi Police is capable of investigating the matter.
He said: “We are shocked with this brutal murder which has happened shortly after the new government came into office. China and Malawi enjoy very good relations and we think this is an isolated criminal case.
“We are also asking the police to take concrete measures to protect nationals of China in Malawi.”
Reacting to the murder, CCAP Synod of Livingstonia Church and Society Programme executive director Moses Mkandawire described the deaths as cruel and bad for Malawi-China relations.
“When investors come into your country, security plays an important role, without it, investors don’t come. We may not really know who may have done it, owing to the fact that Karonga is a border district, but still, this happened in our country and we must take responsibility,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Homeland Security Richard-Chimwendo Banda has described the incident as unfortunate and bad. He assured investors that government will protect them.
He said nothing was taken from the shop; hence, police were working to establish the motive of the attack.
According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, security for investors is one key determinant for establishing business in a particular country.
