Bishop Chirwa case leaves Fountain of Victory Church facing difficult questions

The criminal case surrounding Bishop Medram Chirwa has entered a new phase, but for the prominent Lilongwe cleric and his church, the legal proceedings are only part of a deepening challenge.

Chirwa, a Bishop of the Fountain of Victory Church, remains in custody after a magistrates’ court ruled that it lacks jurisdiction to hear a case linked to the death of Tathokoza Salimu, a 31-year-old FDH Bank employee whose body was discovered last month in Dowa district.

The decision by Mkukula First Grade Magistrate Court was procedural rather than substantive. Magistrate Kondani Chinangwa ordered that  Chirwa be remanded at Maula Prison pending proceedings before the High Court, the only court with authority to hear the matter at this stage.

Crucially, no plea has yet been taken. The allegations against Chirwa have not been tested in court, and no finding has been made on his guilt or innocence.

Yet outside the courtroom, the consequences have already become starkly visible.

As the bishop remains on remand awaiting the commencement of High Court proceedings, his name and that of the Fountain of Victory Church continue to attract intense scrutiny and criticism on social media.

Online discussion has often moved faster than the legal process itself, with commentary, speculation and condemnation proliferating despite the case remaining at a preliminary stage.

The widening public backlash illustrates how high-profile criminal investigations increasingly play out simultaneously in the courts and on digital platforms, where reputational damage can take hold long before legal questions are resolved.

Police arrested  Chirwa in connection with the death of Ms Salimu, whose body was found on 21 September in a vehicle at Chinkhota  Village, near Tatolonga Bridge, on the Dzaleka-Dowa Boma Road.

Dowa Police spokesperson Alice Sitima has said preliminary findings from call logs show Salimu and Chirwa were together on the day of her death. Police say investigations continue and that they are seeking other suspects.

Chirwa’s case now moves to the High Court, where he will be expected to enter a plea.