Malawi journalism student found dead in Blantyre

A third-year student at the Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ) has been found dead at her home in Naperi, in the city of Blantyre, in circumstances that have left family, friends and classmates deeply shaken.

Thokozile Machilinga was discovered with a cloth rope tied around her neck, according to preliminary reports from the scene.

Nyasa Times found police officers  beginning the process of removing Machilinga’s body from the scene, suggesting the discovery had been made only a short time earlier.

No further details have yet been released regarding the exact circumstances surrounding her death, and police are yet to confirm whether the case is being treated as a suspected suicide or is being investigated as something more sinister.

Machilinga’s death is likely to send shockwaves through the close-knit journalism training institution, which has built a reputation over the years for producing many of Malawi’s leading broadcasters and reporters, with students often forming close bonds during their time on campus.

Colleagues and lecturers at MIJ have not yet issued a public statement regarding the tragedy, though tributes are expected to follow as news of her death spreads across the student body and wider journalism community in Blantyre.

Mental health remains a significant but often under-discussed issue among Malawian students, with pressures ranging from academic workload to financial hardship frequently cited by campaigners as contributing factors affecting young people’s wellbeing across the country’s tertiary institutions.

Police are expected to conduct a post-mortem examination to establish the exact cause of death, with further updates likely to follow once investigations have progressed.