Lilongwe Police Station has arrested two men for impersonating Malawi Defence Force (MDF) officers and robbing shop owners.
The suspects—Scott Chimbayo, 28, of Makamba Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Kasumbu, Dedza and Henry Singano, 23, from Kaunde Village in T/A Mlumbe in Zomba —were arrested on Tuesday at Balani Trading Centre in Lilongwe.
The station’s spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula said they were tipped-off about the suspects forcing shop owners who sell cooking oil imported from Mozambique to give them money.
“Upon arrival at the scene we found Chimbayo in military uniform and Henry was in civilian attire. Chimbayo failed to show his identity card hence an arrest was made,” he said.
Dandaula said Chimbayo told police that he is private soldier number 12972 stationed at Kamuzu Barracks under Engineers Battalion and that his accomplice is his brother.
The spokesperson said a check with MDF authorities established that the suspects were not soldiers.
“We recovered six 20-litre buckets and impounded a Toyota Hilux registration BL3626 which they were using,” Dandaula said.
He said the suspects will appear in court soon to answer the charges of robbery which is contrary to Section 301 of the Penal Code.
