Katengeza buried amid calls for justice
Slain Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) network administrator Agnes Katengeza was laid to rest at Area 18 Cemetery in Lilongwe yesterday amid calls for justice.
Scores of mourners, including RBM Governor Wilson Banda, United States Ambassador David Young and Lilongwe City Centre legislator Alfred Jiya, gathered in Area 18B for her funeral service.
In their eulogies, speakers expressed sorrow at the loss of a promising young life and further called for intensified security in the capital city where a spate of violent crimes has been recorded in recent weeks.
Katengeza body was found bundled in the trunk of her abandoned KIA Sportage in Area 47 on Sunday after she was reported missing on Saturday morning.
Her death came barely three days after the body of Alan Wittika, a Coca-Cola Beverages Company (Malawi) sales manager, was also found dumped in his Isuzu supercab pickup in Area 15, which is close to Area 47.
Speaking during the service, RBM head of human resources management Esau Banda described the deceased as an accomplished information and communications technology professional who was at the centre of the central bank’s network systems.
He said: “We are saddened that Agnes is no longer with us. We hope that the security agencies will do their work and apprehend those who have done such a thing as this to one of us at RBM.”
Taking his turn, Young expressed his sadness over Agnes’ death, saying it should not have happened in the first place.
“In times like these, we need to lean onto our Lord since we know that our Lord moves with us even though we walk in the shadow of the valley of death,” said the diplomat.
Jiya lamented insecurity that has engulfed Lilongwe City of late.
“For those of us staying in Lilongwe, we are not safe at all. Things are not good at all,” he said.
Pastor Mervin Donga of Word Alive Ministries called for her spirit to torment her assailants until justice is served.
He said: “As a church, we are praying that those people may never find peace. And I want to agree with the member of Parliament that the evil doers may be here, listening to us. I want to challenge them that the blood of Agnes shall never give you peace until you repent and know God.”
Her murder comes on the heels of various social media warnings on deteriorating public security in Lilongwe and other parts of the country.
Three weeks ago the United States of America Embassy in Lilongwe issued a security alert on its website, cautioning its employees and American citizens living in Malawi on what it termed “the growing crime rate in Lilongwe”.
On Monday, Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma held a press conference where he assured the public that the perpetrators of the recent deaths will be rounded up and that justice will be delivered.
Yesterday, the United Nations also issued a security alert and cautioned its staff and families to be vigilant in the face of an “upsurge in criminality”.
