Dan Nkawihe, a suspect found with implements allegedly used for breaking offense, is seeking justice over his arrest, detention at Kawale police in Lilongwe and being forced to pay K500,000 to get police bail.
Nkawihe was apprehended by members of Kaliyeka community policing on the night of 2 September 2026, saying he was walking to Chilinde from repairing a vehicle at Biwi.
In a letter dated 6 September 2026 and addressed to various institutions including the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Independent Complaints Commission(ICC) and Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), Nkawihe alleges that he was in custody until Saturday, 5 September 2026, after failing to pay K500,000 to a CID officer Thomas Thomson as a condition for his release.
“The demand was made on Saturday, 5 September 2026, after Dan Nkawihe had been kept in police custody for several days without a caution statement being recorded. Officer Thomson demanded the money as a condition for his release. He later received and pocketed K200,000, after which Dan Nkawihe was released on police bail. The payment was not an official fee or charge” reads the letter signed by a family members on behalf of Dan.
The letter further states apart from demanding money, Officer Thomson also abused his office by fabricating information and causing it to be shared with the media that Dan Nkawihe was a thief who had been terrorising the Kawale area.
“The police claimed that Dan Nkawihe was found in possession of suspected breaking implements. However, the items found in his possession were his mechanic’s tools, including spanners. No stolen property was found in his possession at the time of his arrest” it adds.
“During interrogation, Officer Thomson attempted to force Dan Nkawihe to accept trumped-up charges. This appeared to be intended to create grounds for demanding more money from him” the family explains.
A statement on his arrest, Kawale Police Deputy Public Relations Officer, Prisca Mtikwa indicated that police officers raided Dan Nkawihe’s house in Ngwenya, Area 24, during the night of 4 September 2026 and recovered various breaking tools which he allegedly failed to account for.
But the family says this information is false, arguing that no police officer raided or searched Dan Nkawihe’s house.
“The police further claimed that Dan Nkawihe voluntarily admitted during interrogation to using the alleged implements to steal alternators and other vehicle parts from the garage of Mr Gerald Ching’amba. This is also false. Dan Nkawihe did not admit to any criminal act despite Officer Thomson forcing him to admit to what we believe to be fabricated claims” reads the letter.
Adding “Dan Nkawihe does not know Mr Gerald Ching’amba and has never, at any point in his life, worked for or with him. He has also never visited Mr Ching’amba’s garage. Furthermore, there are no formal charges or complaints linking Dan Nkawihe to any such crime.”
The family therefore requests the mentioned governance institutions to investigate Officer Thomson’s demand for K500,000 and his receipt and pocketing of K200,000 in exchange for releasing Dan Nkawihe on police bail.
They further request an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest, detention, interrogation and release of Dan Nkawihe, including the information that was subsequently provided to the media.
ICC public relations officer Happy Njalam’mano has confirmed receipt of the complaint letter and has told Capital FM that they have launched an investigation into the matter.
“Yes we are aware of this and I can confirm that the Commission has opened a file and launched an investigation into the matter. Also just to let you know that the Commission learnt about this case through the media and we have the mandate to launch our investigation through our own initiative without someone coming to lodge a complaint” says Njalam’mano.
On the new developments, Mtikwa refused to comment and national police spokesperson Gladys Chiwawula did not respond to a phone call and WhatsApp messages sent on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
