Malawi police seniors suspend Karonga sergeant for confiscating their maize

Sergeant Christopher Paloti, formerly of Karonga district police station, has been suspended for sticking to a presidential order that made him impound truckloads of maize – in transit for smuggling to Tanzania – belonging to his seniors, Nyasa Times has learnt.

Paloti, who has since been transferred to Likoma Island, confided to us that the officer behind the move is Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kawale, a staff officer to the Inspector General Lexen Kachama.

“I immediately received a mobile phone call from ACP Kawale ordering me to stop wearing uniform and going to the office for impounding their trucks of maize,” Paloti told Nyasa Times.

Among the trucks impounded at Mwenilondo Roadblock on last March 20 include Scanias registration numbers KU4948, KK5866, TO8057 and NA4948 and they belong to Commissioner Suwedi, Sub Inspector Davie Mwakikunga and ACP Kawale.

“I tried to plead with ACP Kawale that I was simply following the Presidential Order and that their trucks were at [the Karonga] police station but it yielded nothing,” said Paloti.

He said after a brief moment he was told that he would be moving to Likoma Island.

While failing to weigh in whether or not some of the trucks of maize belonged to senior members of the Malawi Police Service (MPS), Karonga police publicist Enoch Livason described Paloti’s transfer as normal.

“The transfer of Sergeant Paloti is normal, [and] not because of the maize issue,” said Livason.