A clichéd adage has come to pass. Fugitive Misozi Chanthunya ran but he couldn’t hide. The minions of the law have finally smoked him out of his hideout in South Africa, Nyasa Times learnt from International Police confided.
We are all in a race for dear life:that is to say, we are fugitives from death. But fugitive Chanthunya has been fleeing from several counts of felony involving slain Zimbabwe young lady Linda Gasa in August 2010.
The Malawian businessman is wanted in connection with the grisly death of Gasa, a Zimbabwean student at the Malawi College Accountancy (MCA).
Chanthunya has been on the runafter the 25-year-old Zimbabwean, who went missing on August 4, 2010 was found dead at a lodge in the lake shore district of Mangochi. Malawi Police officer on Interpol desk told Nyasa Times that the wanted fugitive has been arrested in South Africa by International Police on Tuesday.
Malawi Police Inspector General Peter Mukhito and spokesman Davie Chingwalu confirmed the arrest of Chanthunya.
“Yes Mr Chanthunya has been arrested in Rusternburg, South Africa where he was hiding a,” Mukhito said.
Chingwalu told the state controlled MBC: “We would like tothank our Interpol friends and some Malawians who are well wishers who tipped us oF his whereabouts.”
Police said Chanthuya will be extradited from South Africa to Malawi in due course to answer charges relating to the death ofGassa.
Gasa was poisoned before she was buried in a bathroom in Chanthunya’s cottage in Mangochi.
Nyasa Times were the first to break the news of Gasa’s missing.
Malawi Police officers were accused to have let Chanthunya escape and President Bingu wa Mutharika’s daughter, Duwa, is implicated to have aided fugitive Chanthunya to flee the country and to defeat justice.
An officer at Soche Police Station told Nyasa Times that when Chanthunya was summoned to the station sometime ago, President Mutharika’s daughter, Duwa went to the station and was herself engaged in talks with some senior officers.
National police spokesman Davie Chingwalu said Gasa went missingon August 4, 2010 and the matter was reported to police on the 18th of October. Chanthunya was summoned to police on the same day.
“On the 19th August, relatives of Linda and Chanthunya were also summoned to Soche Police for discussions. Chanthunya said that he left Linda at Wenela Bus Depot. He denied taking her to the cottage
although the relatives said they communicated with Linda while she was at Chanthunya’s cottage.
“When we established that he was in Mangochi, he went missing. We could not arrest him at that time because we had not concluded the investigations,” said Chingwalu.
Police moved Peter Chikwemba, the Criminal Investigations Detective who handled the Chanthunya file, to the northernborder district of Karonga.
Police chief Peter Mukhito is on record conceding that officer “could have done better” to prevent an escape of Chanthunya. Homepage