One arrested as Malawi Police hunt for gang of thugs after destroying Bingu’s mausoleum: ‘Mpumulo wa Bata’

Malawi Police say they are following positive lines of enquiry following a deplorable wanton destruction of former President Bingu wa Muntharika’s Ndata Farm at the mausoleum Mpumulo wa Bata or “Peaceful Rest”  that has shocked the family.

Police has since arrested  one suspect arrested  18-year-old boy, suspected to be mentally disturbed, Ernest Mayaya Wailesi from Mitabali Village in Traditional Authority Chimaliro in Thyolo District

He has been charged him with two counts: tampering with a graveyard and malicious damage.

In the meantime, police have stepped up a combination of high visibility and plain clothes patrols around Ndata Farm in a bid to deter thugs.

Police National spokesperson Nicolas Gondwa said investigation are being carried out.

According to press reports, thugs broke into the imposing Mpumulo wa Bata mausoleum where Muntharika   was laid to rest next to his first wife Ethel in a huge white marble mausoleum called Taj Mahal.

Thugs  destroyed six portraits of the Muntharika, two serving bowls, two drawers, window glasses, curtains, picture frames and other valuables.

The sprawling Ndata Farm also has a 54-bedroom house called Villa Casa Blanca.

Late Bingu wa Mutharika was born Ryson Webster Thom in 1934.

The schoolmaster’s son changed it to Bingu Mutharika during the 1960s as pan-Africanism swept across the continent.

He added the prefix “wa” to disguise his identity from Malawi’s first ruler Hastings Kamazu Banda’s state security agents, who were hunting down his opponents around the world.

A former economist, Mr Mutharika was credited for revitalising a moribund agricultural sector during his first term.

That recovery was short-lived, however, and both his terms in office were mired in controversy.

He was criticised for mismanaging the economy and stifling political and press freedoms.

The late Bingu died of a cardiac arrest on April 5 2012 and was buried at the mausoleum on April 23 2012.

Malawi’s current President, Peter Mutharika, is a younger brother to Bingu.

 

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