Two men are in custody in Lilongwe for allegedly possessing a firearm illegally.

Lilongwe Police Station spokesperson Kingsely Dandaula said that the two are Mathews Kampale, 46, and Harrison Malapa, 20.

He said one of the suspects, Malapa, was found with a greener riffle serial number 1407 and five live ammunitions at Kang’oma Trading Centre in Lilongwe last Saturday on 7 July.

“A well-wisher who saw Malapa carrying the gun in its porch while riding a bike tipped the police before the suspect was arrested.

“After the arrest, Malapa revealed that he got the firearm from his boss who asked him to take it to his (the boss’) house at Chiuzira in Traditional Authority (T/A) Tsabango in Lilongwe,” Dandaula said.

He further said that police arrested the second suspect, Kampale, who presented documents of the gun bearing a different name of Robeck Kang’oma Phiri, which is the name of a relative who passed away sometime back in 2015.

Dandaula said that since then, Kampale unlawfully inherited the rifle with the nine live ammunitions. “We are still investigating the matter and new findings indicate the other four bullets were used for poaching,” he said.

The Police are advising the general public to follow proper procedures in transferring ownership of guns or to take such firearms to police for safe keeping once their owners have passed away.

The two suspects are expected to appear before court soon to answer a charge of illegal possession of a firearm contrary to Section 5 of the Fire Arms Act.

Mathews Kampale comes from Mgumbo Village, T/A Zulu in Mchinji while Harrison Malapa is from Ngomakadambo Village, T/A Tsabango in Lilongwe.