By Vanani Nyirenda
Kingsley Kanyenda was not stealing. He was helping load wooden beds into the back of a Police Truck when he heard the crack of gunfire. Then came the second shot. And then the third.
Moments later, Kingsley lay bleeding in a roadside drain—unarmed, confused, and struck by three bullets fired by a police officer who, to this day, has never been held accountable.
It happened on February 19. Kanyenda, 39, was assisting a colleague near the Raiply roadblock in Mzimba District when everything changed in an instant.
“While we were loading the beds, a small van driven by police pulled up,” Kanyenda recalled. “An officer got out and started chatting with the truck driver. I came down from the back, and that’s when I heard the gunfire.”
He dropped into a roadside drain, blood pouring from his right thigh.
“While I was down, I heard the police driver ask his colleague why he had shot me. He said, ‘I thought he was a thief.’ The driver responded, ‘They’re only helping us load. They want to go to Jenda.’”
Kanyenda’s friend and co-worker, Joseph Phiri, witnessed everything.
“The shot shook all of us. We were scared. None of us knew who had been hit or why. We didn’t even know the two police groups knew each other,” Phiri said.
A bullet casing marked PSD 15 was found at the scene. Then both police vehicles—the truck and the van—sped off toward Lilongwe. No one has seen them since. Kanyenda was left behind—in pain, in shock, in a roadside drain.
It was his friends who rushed him to the nearby police checkpoint. A brief statement was taken. He was then sent to Chikangawa Health Centre, and later referred to Mzimba District Hospital.
“My friends carried me, blood gushing from my thigh,” Kanyenda said. “The officers barely asked anything. They just told us to go to the health centre.”
Today, three Police-issued bullets remain lodged in Kanyenda’s thigh. He cannot walk. Cannot work. Cannot run errands.
“I rely on painkillers,” he said. “If I go a day without them, it feels like someone is stabbing me over and over.”
At home, life is falling apart. His in-law, Anna Chihana, says the family is struggling.
“He was our provider,” she said. “Now everything is down. He’s not doing business anymore. I just keep asking myself—what really happened that day?”
She’s calling on NGOs to help Kanyenda get the bullet fragments removed. Ironically, Kanyenda has never been arrested, charged, or even summoned to court.
Yet the Police claim he was trying to steal from the truck. Brighton Mwase, officer-in-charge for Mzimba Police, says the issue is now at the regional level.
Regional Spokesperson Maurice Chapola confirms that an Officer did shoot someone at Chikangawa but insists the suspect was caught in the act.
“All I can confirm is that our officer reportedly shot someone who tried to steal from a police vehicle,” Chapola said. “It’s on record that the suspect escaped.”
But that raises troubling questions: If Kanyenda was stealing, why wasn’t he arrested? Why was he sent to the hospital with no formal charge? Why take a statement at all if he was considered a fleeing suspect?
Kanyenda is no longer staying quiet. He has hired lawyers. He wants justice—maybe even compensation.
A medical report signed by Onesmus Chipula, head of surgery at Mzimba District Hospital, confirms that Kanyenda was admitted with gunshot wounds on February 19.
Zodiak verified the report with Health Promotion Officer Ellings Nyirenda, who confirmed the treatment.
However, Chipula has also warned that surgically removing the fragments is risky. For now, the bullets remain.
The incident has drawn the attention of human rights advocates. Gift Trapence, chairperson of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), is demanding answers—and action.
“We are concerned about the victim’s health. The police must take this seriously. The Malawi Human Rights Commission should investigate, and the Ministry of Health must step in to provide proper care,” Trapence said.
Peter Chisi from the Malawi Human Rights Commission calls the case an open violation of rights.
“This is a case of abuse—of dignity, of access to medical care, of justice,” Chisi said. “We’re investigating, and we urge the victim to provide more information.”
The Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) has also promised to launch a probe.
“We’ll investigate this matter,” said ICC spokesperson Happy Njalammano. “It’s within our mandate. We just cannot yet say how long it will take.”
What happened to Kingsley Kanyenda is a chilling example of what can happen when police power goes unchecked.
Even if he had been stealing—which no one has proven—he didn’t deserve to be shot in the back. Three times. Without warning. While unarmed. Kanyenda posed no threat. And yet he was gunned down by those sworn to protect.
The Malawi Police Service’s duty is to protect life and uphold the law—not violate it. As for Kingsley, his plea is simple: “I want justice. I want these bullets out of my body.”
Zodiak online first published this story.
