Mystery over Ombudsman office break-in

A break-in at the Office of Ombudsman headquarters in Lilongwe has raised questions about security of key governance agencies, high on the heels of a similar break-in at the home of the director general of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The previously unreported break in at the office took place on the 4th January 2022, according to the office of the Ombudsman.

However, National Police Headquarters on Tuesday feigned ignorance on the matter.

The much reported break-in at ACB boss’ home saw a laptop and phone stolen by unknown thugs and in similar fashion, a computer was stolen at the Ombudsman’s office.

Ombudsman Grace Malera confirmed the development in an interview; saying upon discovery of the burglary, the office reported the matter to police and is still waiting for a report on the incident from the law enforcement agency.   

She said: “The matter is now in the hands of the police. We lost a computer and we don’t know exactly what happened.”

But National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera said in an interview his office had no report on the matter.

“We do not have a report of this matter at the moment. Perhaps you should contact Central Region Police Headquarters for information on this matter,” he said.

Central Region Police spokesperson Alex Chinthere could not be reached on several attempts.

The office of the Ombudsman handles a number of public administration cases and other investigations of public interest. The security breaches at both the Ombudsman office and ACB are rare.

Police are yet to report back to the public on the incident at the ACB boss’ home which happened at a time the graft busting body is carrying out a number of high profile investigations.