In Dowa, police have launched a murder investigation after 31-year-old FDH Bank employee Tathokoza Salimu was found dead on September 21. According to Nyasa Times and Malawi24, Salimu was discovered inside her black Subaru Impreza along the Dzaleka-Dowa Boma road with a fatal neck wound. Her vehicle was parked by the roadside with the engine still running. Dowa Police spokesperson Alice Sitima confirmed that Salimu worked at the bank's Dzaleka Refugee Camp branch, and officers are currently hunting for suspects.
In the courts, High Court Judge Mzondi Mvula has reserved his ruling on a State application to revoke the bail of rights activist Sylvester Namiwa, reports Nyasa Times. Namiwa, the Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives, faces treason charges. Prosecutors argue that Namiwa breached his bail conditions by holding a press conference in early September. His defense maintains he did not discuss his ongoing case and was exercising his right to free expression. A ruling is expected between October 20 and 22.
Limbe Dalton Senior Resident Magistrate's Court formally discharged match-fixing charges against FOMO FC owner Mary Woodworth on September 23 following years of prosecution delays, according to Nyasa Times. The drawn-out legal battle, dating back to February 2024, had previously cost the club a £20,000 sponsorship deal from Kitaid. In a separate court ruling, the Chiradzulu First Grade Magistrate's Court sentenced 25-year-old Sinalo Frank to 10 years in prison with hard labour for robbing a cyclist of K600,000, Face of Malawi reports. Two of his alleged accomplices remain at large.
Businessman Mahmed Shafee Ahmed Chunara, a central figure in the duty-free Cement Gate scandal, is facing new controversy over a land dispute. Nyasa Times and Malawi Cables report that villagers and local chiefs in Magwero and Salima are protesting a newly erected perimeter wall by Chunara. Locals say the wall has severed traditional footpaths linking communities to the M1 Road, escalating a longstanding land conflict.