Malawi army confirms its soldier ‘shoots self’ to death in DRC peacekeeping mission
A Malawi Defence Force (MDF) has identified its soldier who apparently committed suicide whilst deployed in a peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as Moses Ngwira from Chirumba Garrison in Karonga.
Ngwira died after shooting himself head during early hours of Monday, MDF public relations officer Lieutenant Paul Chiphwanya confirmed the incident and that he next-of-kin have been informed.
Pictures of his body lying in pool of blood after the incident went viral on social media.
MDF spokesperson said reasons behind the suicide were yet to be established, saying the soldier “did not leave any note indicating the reasons behind the suicide.”
Chiphwanya said Ngwira did not even complain to anybody of anything.
MDF has since instituted an inquiry to help establish facts on the matter.
The 26 year-old who joined MDF in 2012 was deployed to the DRC in May this year and was part of Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), which has a mandate to conduct offensive operations.
Ngwira who hailed from Matete village in the area of Traditional Authority Wansambo in Karongais survived by a wife.
Malawi is part of the three-nation FIB mandated by the UN to engage in direct fighting against the numerous armed groups—notably, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Ugandan Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF) and other smaller groups—that have been destabilising eastern DRC for over 15 years.
Besides Malawi, other members of the FIB are South Africa and Tanzania.
Who gave the mandate for our soldiers to be engaged in combat? I thought this is supposed to be done with approval from full parliament? Peace keeping and engagement are totally two different scenarios please.
RIP peacekeeper ,we can’t judge you,only God God knows,kwa inu amene simunapite Ku mission area,whether soldier or police,mulingalile b4 commenting ,you can only understand the word stress ,mukazaponda mission area,yes we are believers ,dziwani izi,people have different levels of faith,belief. My condolences to our mighty MDF. kakopola.com
Did he really shot himself? The pictures disagree with this
Should please explain
should you please explain if you have heard something fishy behind the scene
This is really a sad development for our MDF service, family and friends to the deceased but also as a nation. May his soul rest in peace.
From the knowledge that I have, suicide is precipitated by a number of factors ranging from psychological, emotional, to social. Different people have different coping skills to challenges, dilemmas, uncertainty of life, fear, stress, anxiety so on and so forth. This is the reason why people react differently even when going through a similar or same situation/challenge, either in an adaptive or maladaptive way depending on their coping skills. It is therefore imperative that people seek psychosocial counselling for support in their difficult moments.
I therefore would like to suggest that our beloved MDF officers should be undergoing thorough psychological assessment and be provided with psychotherapy if need be before going for international military services. In extention of my suggestion, I would also like to ask our officials both from MDF and Malawi police services through the Government to employ professional psychosocial counsellors to assist in provision of psychotherapy/counselling to officers who are going through trauma, depression, stress, anxiety, family problems just to mention a few to avoid unhealthy outcomes of the mentioned symptoms.
Jesus says and i quote “bring your burdens to me for i care” end of quote… He means it. have you been passing through hard times and its had to go on with life, call upon this Jesus and let him offload this load. He is faithful
There is a need for Psycho social support for the Soldiers deployed in Peace Keeping missions.
Dont let more and more service men go like this.. Govt knows the soldiers undergo traumatic war experiences and need psychological help. Take care of our brethren and listen to them.
Too bad. This leaves a lot of unanswered questions to friends and relatives!
Too bad to loose such a young man. May His soul rest peace.
However conflicting reports, indicate that the this young trooper was shot dead while on duty and in action. Reliable sources from within the army show that the young man was brutally killed by the DRC people who to malawian are treated as good immigrants. It also remanis to be seen as to why the government of malawi is still welcoming refugees from DRC