Councillor, chief arrested for theft
Police have arrested seven suspects, including a councillor for Chanda Ward at Mayaka in Zomba Ntonya Constituency and Group Village Head (GHV) Kaselema, in connection with the theft of 32 bags of cement meant for a Local Development Fund (LDF) project.
The suspects were arrested on Thursday after police received complainants that the cement bags, meant for the construction of Thondwe Bridge currently underway, had been sold.
Zomba district commissioner(DC) Bennet Nkasala and police spokesperson Patricia Sipiliano on Monday confirmed the development in separate interviews.
Sipiliano said the suspects, who have all been charged with theft contrary to Section 278 of the Penal Code, were still under police custody awaiting court appearance.
She said: “After interrogation some of the accused have denied involvement in the incident so we are still investigating the matter, but they have all been charged with theft.”
Sipiliano identified the councillor as 39-year-old Lawrence Chika from Jimu Village, GHV Kaselema real name George Chitsulo, 57, and Nickson Botha, 40, from Namalika Village.
The other four from Buleya Village include Addition Maononga, 57, Mavuto Linje, 25, Joseph Bwanali, 38 and Patrick Kapelenganya, 29. All the seven hail from Traditional Authority (T/A) Chikowi’s area in Zomba.
Nkasala, while describing the incident as worrisome and counter-productive to development, said the stolen cement was supposed to be used for upgrading of Thondwe Bridge that connects Zomba Ntonya and Zomba Thondwe constituencies from a timber-made to concrete type. n
