Police nab 3rd suspect in student rape and boyfriend murder
Police have arrested a third and supposedly last suspect in the rape and murder cases of an 18-year-old Malawi Institute of Tourism (MIT) student and her boyfriend respectively.
The suspect, Willy Nanthambwe, is believed to be part of a three-member squad that repeatedly gang-raped the girl and murdered her boyfriend Victor Kokoma on January 17, this year at Sunnyside City Park in Blantyre.
The three criminals who were armed with panga knives also stole two mobile phones and a pair of shoes belonging to the deceased.
The deceased, aged 23 hailed from Ngwata village, TA Mwadzama in Nkhotakota District and was a resident of Machinjiri Township in Blantyre while his girl friend (name withheld) comes from Mwamadi Village in the area of TA Mthiramanja in Mulanje district.
The three reportedly ambushed the couple and ordered them to sit down and surrender their phones plus other belongings to them.
The girl complied with the orders but the boy resisted forcing the thugs to physically assault the two before severe beating the boy who later died on the same spot due to internal injuries.
Blantyre Police Assistant Public Relations Officer, Lameck Thembachako, said the third suspect was assertively identified by the girl during an identification parade conducted at the Blantyre Police Station.
The 21-year-old Nanthambwe, who comes from Maleule Village, Traditional Authority Kapeni in Blantyre district, joins his two accomplices- Jonasi Zakeyu and Jimmy Khmalo- both of them 28 years old and currently on remand at Chichiri Prison in Blantyre.
Zakeyu, who hails from Disi Village, TA Chapita in Balaka district, is the first suspect and was arrested at Kubaluti Location in Blantyre on February 24, barely a month after the incident.
His arrest followed police discovery in his custody of an LG phone, which the girl reported was robbed from her on the day of the incident.
And the second suspect, Khumalo, was also arrested in Blantyre on June 01, 2012 and comes from Nthintha Village, TA Ndamera in Nsanje district.
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