APM’s stepson nabbed over Mzimba mass grave
Police in Lilongwe yesterday arrested Tadikira Mafubza, stepson to former president Peter Mutharika, for his alleged connection to the mass grave in a forest in Mzimba District.
The arrest follows investigations conducted in October after police said the 30 bodies found in Mtangatana Forest were of Ethiopians.
National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya yesterday said Mafubza handed himself over to National Police Headquarters in Lilongwe.
He said: “We have strong evidence linking Tadikira to the mass grave in Mzimba. We have been looking for him for the past three days and he decided to hand over himself at Area 30.
“That is all I can say for now as we continue with our investigations. He will be charged on Thursday.”
Our sources indicate that a vehicle allegedly used to ferry the people whose mass graves were found in Mzimba has been impounded as well.
An autopsy report by pathologist Charles Dzamalala is yet to be made public by police. But the physician confirmed to have submitted a preliminary report.
Mutharika’s spokesperson Shadric Namalomba, who earlier yesterday promised to provide a statement on the matter, later said: “Our response is no response. No comment.”
But during a media briefing at his residence in Mangochi on November 11, Mutharika expressed shock at government’s silence on the mass grave.
He said Malawians and the international community, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) deserved to know what happened to the immigrants.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson John Kabaghe said they have been in touch with the Ethiopian government on the matter.
Meanwhile, peace and security expert Master Dicks Mfune has called for securitisation measures to deal with illegal immigrants.
He said such measures should include introduction of restrictive border controls to fight terrorism, accompanied by those intended to curb illegal migration flows and to police minorities.
In September, Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services national spokesperson Pasqually Zulu said they had already deported 191 illegal immigrants while 198 were at Mzuzu Prison and another 178 in other areas. There were also three minors at Bvumbwe while another 17 recently intercepted bring the total to 587.
