KANENGO POLICE SPEAKS OUT ON ENCOUNTER WITH MDF SOLDIER; We invaded the house to recover stolen vehicle

Kanengo Police in Lilongwe says they invaded the house of a female Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Soldier identified as Sergeant Evelyn Msema at Area 25 in the city to recover a stolen vehicle.

This follows audio and video clips making rounds on social media platforms in which professional police officers were heard interrogating a female soldier who throughout the interrogation sounded ‘stubborn and uncooperative.’

According to a Police report in our custody, on Sunday 7 January, 2023 Mvama Police Unit arrested Lestina Nhlema, a loan shark residing in Area 49 on allegation that she confiscated a taxi driven by Amos Chombe.

The report further said that the suspect was released on condition that the she would hand the vehicle back to Amos Chombe but she did not return the vehicle but instead she started playing hide and seek with the law enforcers.

“During interrogation, it was discovered that Lestina Nhlema gave a loan to Mphatso Mgusha worth K3,500,000 and he was failing to pay back.

“And on this day, Mphatso Mgusha sent Dr. Yamikani Mgusha and Joyce Mgusha to discuss the loan issue. The two had hired a taxi driven by Amos Chombe.

When they arrived at Lestina Nhlema’s house things didn’t go well and Lestina and her colleagues, which included MDF soldier Nhlema and other persons confiscated the taxi thinking it belongs to Mphatso Mgusha,” reads the statement in part

On January 13 2023, four Police officers from Kanengo Police station invaded the house of Lestina who happens to be a sister to a MDF soldier to retrieve the vehicle.

“When we arrived we introduced ourselves as police officers and asked if owner the house is available. The two young men informed us that she was around and we requested them to call her. Unfortunately, she didn’t come out and we sent a female officer to check.

She reported back that she is coming and needed to dress up. We waited for a while but she didn’t come out that’s when we decided to check and found that she was naked. There was commotion as she was not cooperative,” reads the report.

The report further said: “We realized that she was not Lestina and she was MDF soldier and we tried to ask her the whereabouts of Lestina which she replied didn’t know. We asked her to call but the phones but they could not get through. Later on someone within the group identified and that she was amongst the persons that confiscated the taxi.”

The female soldier was then told to report at Kanengo Police station the following morning to record a statement on the issue of the motor vehicle.

Kanengo Police further denied reports that the MDF soldier was manhandled as has been widely reported.

“Of course, during interrogations, we expressed disappointment that as Police, we were disappointed that a fellow law enforcer was defeating the ends of justice. But there was no physical assault of any kind,” said one of the officers who took part in the operation.

Kanengo Police say, as of Sunday, the vehicle was yet to be returned to its rightful owner.