Malawian Parliament has been marked as a scene of the crime after a former deputy speaker shot himself dead inside the building.
The former deputy speaker is said to have committed the crime inside the building where he had gone for a meeting to discuss vehicle benefits he was entitled to following his retirement in 2019.
“Parliament regrets to inform the public that the former deputy speaker… committed suicide at the parliament building,” the Malawian parliament said in a statement.
Police spokesperson James Kadadzera who confirmed the incident declined to give details of the incident. According to him, he will only provide full details on the matter once he gets a full report of the investigation.
Preliminary reports have, however, suggested that the former Speaker might have committed suicide following his frustration with the implementation of his conditions of service by the Parliament.
The former speaker, Clement Chiwaya, is said to have bought his official vehicle at the end of his term in 2019, according to his contract but the vehicle was involved in an accident six months later. He, therefore, tried to push the parliament to pay for the damages the vehicle attained following the accident.
According to reports, the 50-year-old former legislature had also gone to court over the matter and the matter is still in the corridors of justice.
How he sneaked the gun into the parliament building
It is against the law to enter the parliament building with a firearm. Therefore, in most cases, the guns are normally collected at the entrance of the building.
Chiwaya, however, is said to have sneaked his gun into the building by taking advantage of his wheelchair which made the scanner at the security check not detect the gun.
“Having been a person with a disability, the (security) scanner alerts were deemed to be from the wheelchair,” the parliament said.
Sources say that Chiwaya shot himself in the head inside the office of the Parliament’s clerk.
