Thugs kill entrepreneur, steal K2m

Five armed men on Saturday shot dead a 67-year-old businessperson outside his office entrance at Manja light industrial site in Blantyre, stealing K2 million cash in the process.

Police have identified the deceased as Serafim Fernando da Silva, a Portuguese national and resident of Manja Township, who was a building contractor, but was also working for Terrastone Construction Company.

The unknown criminals also went away with about K2 million cash which Da Silva had reportedly withdrawn to pay his workers’ wages and meet other operational costs.

“The incident occurred around lunch hour. The deceased was in the company of his wife and son when he was shot at.

“Some well-wishers rushed him to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, but it was too late to save his life,” said Blantyre Police Station spokesperson Elizabeth Divala.

According to Divala, the deceased was reportedly trailed from the bank where he withdrew the cash to his business premises and, upon reaching his office gate, he was approached by three robbers who forcibly pulled him out of his vehicle.

Said Divala: “They [gang] first searched the car thinking the money was put under the seat, but apparently it was in his wife’s handbag which they snatched before speeding away.”

The robbers, who had two firearms and some pangas, were reportedly driving a Toyota Corolla registration BS 9292.