Inspector General of Police Lot Dzonzi has sent a team to Mangochi to investigate alleged police assault following a story published in The Nation on Monday.
Dzonzi said in an interview on Wednesday the team left Lilongwe on Tuesday night and was expected to begin work the following morning.
Said Dzonzi: “I have instituted the team to steeply investigate the matter. We have an internal affairs office whose director and staff members are on the case. I cannot say when they will be through with it.â€
The story involved William Tayub who claimed that his two sons, Maxwell and Humphrey, were arrested by Mangochi Police in a case of mistaken identity. Police confirmed the arrest, but differed with Tayub on its facts.
In an interview, Tayub said his sons were coming from a drinking spree at one of the bottlestores in Mangochi when police arrested Humphrey.
But Mangochi Police spokesperson Rodrick Maida claimed Humphrey was a fugitive of a rape case who allegedly answered to the name of William.
Tayub insisted that the fugitive son, William, is currently in South Africa where he has been for the last three years.
He claimed that Humphrey, on resisting arrest, was beaten severely whereas Maxwell was subsequently picked on a charge of obstructing a police officer on duty.
Maida, however, claimed the police acted on a tip-off when they picked Humphrey as a rape suspect who bolted from police custody some years back.
Humphrey, whose father alleged lost a tooth in the fracas, was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm as William after Maida alleged he bit off the ear of one of the officers.
Meanwhile, Maida said the suspect appeared before the Mangochi First Grade Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and is on remand for the rape charge.
His brother Maxwell was released on bail. His case resumes on June 11 2012.
