Minister Chimwendo says MBC security officer confess shooting Poly student in ‘self-defence’
Minister of Homeland Security Richard Chimwendo Banda has said a security officer from Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has confessed that he shot First Year Polytechnic student Blessings Nyondo in Blantyre on the night of December 21 2020.
Police has been accused that one of its cop shot Nyondo multiple times around Kwacha roundabout and the student later died in hospital.
The Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) accused police of “outright insensitive and incoherent” to feed the nation a narrative that the late Nyondo was a robbery suspect.
HRDC threatened to mobilise Malawians for vigil at the Southern Region Police Headquarters.
But Minister Chimwendo Banda held a meeting with MBC team which included the security guard suspected to have shot late Nyondo.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, the minister said the MBC security guard confessed that he shot the student twice in “self-defence.”
He said the security guard explained his side of the story on what actually happened.
“ What we’ve learnt is that an MBC vehicle, a Prado, went to pick police officers from Kanjedza to help with security and were heading towards Kwacha Roundabout on their way to MBC TV, Njamba Studio.
“Suddenly, as there was a queue and vehicles were moving slowly, the late Blessings Nyondo appeared in front of the vehicle, and later opened the door and forced himself in. Once in the vehicle, he started wresting with the police officer at the back seat to snatch a gun from him, but the police officer managed to escape with the gun,” said Chimwendo Banda.
He said Nyondo then allegedly tried to snatch a gun from the MBC security guard who was on the passenger’s seat in front but failed again.
The minister said as late Nyondo allegedly attempted to escape the scene, the security guard opened fire as a warning and fired again to disable the suspect.
He said the security guard suspected the student wanted to steal the vehicle.
According to the minister, police also recorded a statement from a woman who claimed the deceased snatched her handbag and was running away.
The minister said their findings were not conclusive.
HRDC chairperson Gift Trapence said the Malawi Police Service owe Malawians an explanation as to why it was possible that a suspect who had attempted to snatch a gun from a police officer was not placed under arrest and was just dumped at the hospital until he died on January 6 2021.
He warns that, as human rights defenders, they will not sit back and watch the Malawi Police Service militate against its very own mandate, which is to protect lives and property.
“The constitution of the Republic of Malawi provides for the right to life in section 16(1) and that such life shall not be arbitrarily deprived. All forms of arbitrary deprivation of life by any person, including law enforcement agents, are unacceptable in Malawi.”
Nyondo was reportedly shot when he was on his way to overnight prayers at Robin’s Park near the scene of the incident where he was shot.
He was a student of The Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi, who was staying in Chitawira Township from where he was attending weekend classes.
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I am not buying the narrative because it falls short of consistency and very far away from reality.#justicefornyondo
It’s really laughable 🤣🤣🤣 so after failing to grab a gun from a police officer who run away with a deadly weapon he found another target who was watching when the police officer was wrestling with the robber kkkkkk Come on guys find another excuse not this stupid one…. THE POLICE OFFICER RUN AWAY hahaha. You Mr Chimwendo Banda think before you relay such useless message
Above all, police officers are not hired in singles but from two above and always with guns not a gun. Therefore, why did MBC hire one police officer rather where was the other police officer when all this fake story was taking place?
Bwana Chimwendo, lankhulani ngati nduna osati mbwerera ngati zimenezi if indeed this is what you said. I for one, respects you but not on this issue
A Prado car should be assumed to have an automatic self locking device unless it was faulty.The motive for the victim having access into the car and started wrestling with the police officer over the gun is a source of many questions. The issue regarding a woman with her bag snatched by the victim is a leading clue linking to the circumstances on the gun wrestling both with the Police Officer and MBC guard. A preliminary base for investigations has at least been established.
If cars were moving very slowly because of a long queue, then there should be lots of witnesses! and who steals a car when there is nowhere to run? Thieves will drive off and escape, so it doesnt make sense to steal a car in a traffic jam!
So the MBC guards has guns??
Should we say the guard was escorting the driver to pick the police?
Since they are saying the police officer run away, should we say that at the time of shooting there was no police officer?
Come on . mbc members coming up with a stupid scum aaawe ..thought kuli anthu anzeru koma zokamba zimenezizi nde sitingalole ofcoz a police(ppl of low intelligence) amatithandiza koma pena amasungilaso zigawenga..munthu amushuta bwanji 2 bullets nkhani yaying’ono ngat imeneyo aaa galimoto olo ndi moyo zikufanana ndipo ndlama zimene awononga kut akule ndi prado sizikugwilizana
that student was a thief, finish and claaa…..
INUU BODZA LOKHALOKHA LUKAMBIDWA APA
Can’t buy this fiction. What time was it that there was a long a queue of slow moving vehicles on that stretch of road?
It’s time we should think about having at least one police officer to wear body cams on patrol.
Police Stations are not yet connected to the Hqs inu mukukamba zomuyika wapolisi online zoona? that gear needs to be uploading the clips to the server realtime else they will be tempered.
Ulemu has a point, and thats a start the rest will follow. overton osangofikila kususa zilizonse
Nkhaniyi mukuwuza mwana kapena
Chimwendo, is this information about the admission of a security guard worth disclosing to the public. I am sure there could have been another ways of sharing this information with the public. Do you realise that the life of a security guard is in danger or are providing security to the guard so that he is not harmed before the investigations are over?
I thought car doors auto lock as soon as you start driving. Were they driving a 1960’s car? Why was this student trying to grab a gun from not one person but two? If someone at night comes and ‘open’ your car door, what will be your first thought?
Is Malawi safe now that a person can walk at night on their own from Poly to Kwacha or wherever? 20yrs ago, you wouldn’t do that.
We should expect more of this from the pupils that had been left out of the secondary school selection. What will they be doing? There are just too make thugs made by the previous governments by deny them their constitutional right to education. We pay loads of tax for this but Muluzi and Muthalikas did literally nothing.
This leaves us with a lot of questions than answers. A thorough investigation into this incident must be done.
I fully. Th agree the story a fiction
Self Defense yet he was running away, just doesn’t add up. These MBC crew colluded in order to defend their friend. According to the statement one person fighting several armed men singlehandedly. Nenani zina a nduna.
Muona mavuto, police ya mcp is police force not service. Kudutsa pafupi ndi police pano ndi mlandu.
Kkkkkkklo and Chimwendo himself believes this nonsense narrative???? In any security agencies in the world there is what they call camaraderie. They will at all cost try to protect or defend each other that is the nature of their job. They regard themselves as a family, so family doesn’t betray or sellout one of their own. Only a mad person can do what they’re trying to feed us here. A lie no matter how you can decorate it you can try to dress it with make up BUT a lie will remain a lie. That’s why kwa Amfumu akangoti tafotokozani nzakonso ndikufotokoza mbali yake instantly wolakwa amakhala wadziwika even before the commencement of the trial itself. Apa Police isatibwatike the fact remains that apha an innocent young man with a bright future. Shame. Mzimu wa Munthu ndi wa mtengo wapatali & his blood can never go in vain truth will one day come out. Rest In Peace, Blessings Nyondo.
This does not make sense at all,As peter is saying how many police officers were there in the vehicle? And you are saying the police officer on back of the prado escaped? to where was he escaping to and from what was he escaping from? Did the people in front seats of the vehicle not notice the situation and what was there reaction? You are also combining several stories, that of snatching a bag from a woman how does that come into play with the shooting? If you have nothing to report do not cook up stories because this will fire back on you.
The issue of Nsundwe will not be perused because at the centre of it there is Chakwera and Chimwendo Banda. These people used to sponsor these criminals through Timothy Ntambo the terrorist leader.
How many police officers were in the vehicle? It means we have poor police security. Kilephera kumugwira munthu m’modzi kumumanga awulule if he truly came to attack them.
If you were the police officer, what could you have done? imagine you are on the traffic queue on the road at night and someone jumps in your vehicle trying to snatch what you have, what can you do? Nobody deserves to be shot dead but i think the guy was dangerous to the guys in the vehicle, luckily it happened to police, imagine it happened to a lady.
Police officers are trained how to deal with unexpected. Your question clearly suggests that the police officers are as good as civilians.A police officer must always be alert especially at awkward hours like in the night because you don’t know who is where.
U must be very dull brother