Police arrest Escom staff impersonators in Lilongwe

Police in Lilongwe on   Saturday arrested two men for allegedly impersonating Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) employees and swindling money from a prospective customer.

Lilongwe Police Station spokesperson Kingsley Dandaula said the suspects are expected to appear in court today to answer charges of theft by tricks and impersonating a public officer.

Escom public relations manager Innocent Chitosi also confirmed the arrests in an interview yesterday.

He said George Phiri and Duncan Mbewe presented themselves to a customer at Lilongwe’s Area 49 and offered to connect his house to the Escom grid.

The suspects allegedly fleeced the customer of K124 000 in an initial payment.

“Following a complaint from the customer, an Escom team led by our Controller of Security Major Rodrick Mkaka (rtd) apprehended the two and handed them over to Lilongwe Police Station,” said Chitosi.

In January this year, Escom disconnected power to 24 households in Area 2 in Lilongwe while in August this year, police in Mzuzu arrested another Escom impersonator for duping a customer K1.3 million.

Phiri, 42, comes from Lulukira Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Mkanda in Mchinji while Mbewe is from Malekano Village, T/A Chigalu in Blantyre. n