Unknown burglars on Monday attempted to break into the Office of the Vice-President Saulos Chilima at Capital Hill in Lilongwe. The incident has since been reported to police for investigations.
According to information we have gathered, the suspects wanted to enter the wing that houses the Office of the Vice-President and the Principal Secretary through the waiting room.
Press officer in the Office of the Vice-President, Pilirani Phiri, confirmed the incident in an interview yesterday.
“Yes, I can confirm about this incident, but the matter was reported to the police. So, the issue is in the hands of the police. Thank you.”
Lingadzi Police Station spokesperson Salome Zgambo refused to comment on the matter.
An insider claimed that the police station received a complaint on Tuesday, but has not recorded it on file.
“Ideally after recording the complaint, the regional office should have been provided with information. But nothing of that sort has happened. It is a case which exposes security gaps, therefore, someone is trying hard to have the story suppressed so that they are not accountable for this,” said the source.
National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera, in a telephone interview yesterday, declined to comment, saying he did not have details.
In 2014, Mudi residence in Blantyre where Chilima was living as Vice-President under the Democratic Progressive Party regime, was also broken into at around 2am, raising questions on the effectiveness of State of security for the Second Citizen.
Break-ins at Capital Hill are not new. In 2019, unidentified people broke into the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and went away with computers and hard drives.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Defence Jean Sendeza’s house at Area 47 in Lilongwe was on Tuesday broken into. At least K3 million and assorted household items were stolen from during the incident.
In a written response, Zgambo said one suspect, Chisomo Frackson of Malezi Village, Traditional Authority Chitekwere in Lilongwe, has been arrested and a few items recovered.
