Malawi Police officer did not leave suicide note before fatally shooting himself

A Malawi Police Officer stationed in the central region at the Kabwazi Police Unit in Dedza, George Kambuwa Saidi who shot himself dead during the morning hours of Saturday April 11 2015, did not leave any suicide not.

National Police spokesperson Rhoda Manjolo said the motive behind the suicide of Constable Saidi, who is from Chigudu Village in traditional authority Msakambewa in Dowa, is however yet be established.

“The deceased did not leave a suicide note,” Manjolo said.

“We are treating the case as suicide at the moment. The Constable used a service firearm,” said Manjolo.

The incident comes at the heels of a sad and frightening incident in Blantyre where a Senior Officer from the Malawi Prison Service, Senior Superintendent Evance Chisi, shot dead his two sons dead.

Both are reported to have used service fire arms.

Gun violence is rare in Malawi where the process of owning private guns is very strict. Apart from members of the Malawi Army, only specially-trained riot Police officers and a select cadre of prison warders are allowed to bear arms. Private security companies hardly bear arms.

But of late there have been growing incidences where police officers have rent out their officials fire arms to criminal gangs.

A report coincidentally Published in Malawi’s leading daily The Nation on Friday indicated that at least 30 police officers have been arrested nationwide after being linked to Organized crime.