Police have arrested Pemphero Puleti, 24, on suspicion that he murdered a Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldier Chiswansangu Nyirongo, 30.
In what is being viewed as a retaliatory move, unknown people have also torched market stalls and merchandise at Mvera Trading Centre.
Dowa Police spokesperson Alice Sitima confirmed the arrest of Puleti for allegedly stabbing the Mvera Support Battalion-based soldier to death.
“Nyirongo was murdered in his house on the night of July 15 2025. We launched an investigation into the incident and arrested Puleti. He will appear before court soon to answer a murder charge,” she said.
Unconfirmed reports on social media showed photos and videos of a market and merchandise at Mvera purportedly burnt by suspected MDF soldiers.
“We are also just hearing about the incident, but we have not received any report so it would be hard for me to comment,” said Sitima.
But a source from Mvera said unsuspecting traders were ambushed by a group of people who stormed the trading centre, scattering various merchandise.
“Goods worth a lot of money have been destroyed and I doubt if some of them will be able to bounce back,” she said.
In video clips which circulated on social media, a voice of a man was heard, saying “this man has put us in trouble” while others, mostly women, were seen gathering remnants of their destroyed merchandise.
According to Sitima, Nyirongo was residing in a rented house at Kalazi Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Chiwere in Dowa.
And on the material night, he was visited by his girlfriend.
“Reports say the girlfriend woke up to strange sounds from the sitting room. She woke Nyirongo up and when he went to check, he found an intruder with whom he tussled. The intruder stabbed him in the stomach with a sharp object and fled,” she said.
Sitima added that despite screams for help, neighbours did not respond, prompting the deceased’s girlfriend to call his colleagues who rushed him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
She said a postmortem revealed that death was due to hypovolemic shock secondary to internal bleeding.
Nyirongo was laid to rest on Wednesday at his home in Vyalema Village in T/A Chikulamayembe in Rumphi District.
Puleti comes from Lufeyo Village, T/A Chiwere in Dowa.
