Minister’s car stolen
Police say they have launched investigations into alleged abduction of a driver and carjacking of a ministerial vehicle for Minister of Civic Education and National Unity Timothy Mtambo.
The vehicle, which went missing in Lilongwe on Wednesday night, according to Mtambo and National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera, was later found deformed around Bwengu in Mzimba.
In an interview yesterday, Mtambo claimed the vehicle was stolen by four men clad in police uniform, along the M1 near Daeyang Luke Hospital where his driver had been assigned to buy medication for the Mtambo’s father.
He said: “The driver is receiving treatment. He said the four men stopped him and told him his back tyre was deflated. When he stepped out of the car to check the tyre, they started hitting him on the head with wooden bars until he fell unconscious.
“He then observed that the car made a stop somewhere he couldn’t recognise and picked a man of Asian origin. After some time, the car hit a pothole and lost control, plunging into a maize field at Bwengu where people rescued them.”
Mtambo has since called for enhanced security in the country.
On his part, Kadadzera said law enforcers were investigating the matter.
“The driver claims he was abducted, and our officers are investigating the matter. The future of the case will depend on the outcome,” he said briefly.
The incident comes less than a week after office of the director of administration in the Office of the Vice-President Saulos Chilima was broken into, with the thugs stealing a computer monitor, central processing unit and a radio.
In January 2015, then minister of Information Kondwani Nankhumwa’s official Toyota Prado TX was stolen around Lunzu in Blantyre, and later recovered in Mozambique.
The incident occurred a few months after thugs broke into the home of then minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining Atupele Muluzi. A similar breach of security was reported at Mudi Residence, the official Vice-President’s residence in Blantyre.
