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: Malawi army man shot himself to death with his service weapon while on duty in DRC

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.

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Mute Gama
Mute Gama
6 years ago

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.

General Momoh
General Momoh
6 years ago

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

Adzonzi
Adzonzi
6 years ago

Did he really shot himself? The pictures disagree with this

Yusuf Jonas
Yusuf Jonas
6 years ago
Reply to  Adzonzi

Should please explain

Yusuf Jonas
Yusuf Jonas
6 years ago
Reply to  Adzonzi

should you please explain if you have heard something fishy behind the scene

Treasure
Treasure
6 years ago

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… Read more »

mwakaonja
mwakaonja
6 years ago

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

Chatsalira
Chatsalira
6 years ago

There is a need for Psycho social support for the Soldiers deployed in Peace Keeping missions.

War veteran
War veteran
6 years ago

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.

hambakahle kamdidi
hambakahle kamdidi
6 years ago

Too bad. This leaves a lot of unanswered questions to friends and relatives!

kaka
kaka
6 years ago

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

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