Evalista Chisale named deputy inspector general of Malawi police
The wife of President Peter Mutharika’s personal bodyguard and deputy minister has been elevated to one of the most senior positions in Malawi’s police force, despite currently facing a case to answer over the death of a man who was electrocuted while in police custody.
The Malawi Police Service Commission has confirmed the appointment of Commissioner Evalista Mvula Chisale as Deputy Inspector General of Police responsible for Administration, with immediate effect — a promotion that has reignited controversy surrounding her family’s grip on the upper echelons of Malawi’s security apparatus.
National Deputy Police spokesperson Alfred Chimthere confirmed the Commission met yesterday in Blantyre, where Chisale’s appointment was rubber-stamped.
Dr Noel Kayira was simultaneously appointed Deputy Inspector General responsible for Operations, filling the vacancy left by the retirement of Stain Chaima.
A family with its fingers in every pie
Evalista Chisale is married to Norman Chisale, the Deputy Minister of Homeland Security, MP for Ntcheu Central — and, remarkably, personal bodyguard to President Peter Mutharika himself.
Norman Chisale’s extraordinary combination of roles has already triggered fierce public debate, with critics questioning how a sitting MP can simultaneously carry out active presidential security duties.
Now, his wife’s promotion to one of the country’s top policing jobs is set to pour further fuel on the fire.
Murder case looms large over promotion
The appointment comes despite Chisale being one of ten police officers found by the High Court to have a case to answer over the 2019 death of Buleya Lule, a suspect in the abduction of a 14-year-old boy living with albinism, who died in police custody after being electrocuted.
High Court Judge Chifundo Kachale ruled that Chisale and nine fellow officers must answer for their actions, following a damning report from the Malawi Human Rights Commission, which had previously named her among those suspected of involvement in the circumstances surrounding Lule’s death.
She was arrested in July 2020 alongside eleven other officers in connection with the case.
Rapid rise through the ranks
Chisale’s latest promotion follows a rapid ascent through police leadership. She was among eight officers elevated to the rank of Commissioner on 31 January 2026 — a round of promotions that itself became mired in controversy, coming amid a bitter legal dispute after four embattled commissioners secured an injunction against their redeployment.
Their official vehicles were subsequently stripped and handed to the newly promoted officers, Chisale among them.
New operations chief with sharply contrasting reputation
In stark contrast, her new counterpart Dr Noel Kayira arrives with a reputation for integrity that has drawn widespread praise.
A lawyer with a PhD from the University of Malawi, Kayira previously served as South East Police Region Commissioner and has been described by colleagues as one of the most principled and professional senior officers in the country’s law enforcement ranks.
He recently spearheaded a high-profile security crackdown in Blantyre following a viral video showing street children harassing members of the public.
The stark contrast between the two appointments — one dogged by an unresolved murder case, the other built on a reputation for professionalism — is likely to intensify scrutiny of the Chisale family’s influence within Malawi’s security establishment, at a time when questions over accountability within the police service remain firmly in the public spotlight.
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