Police in Zomba have arrested a 26-year-old man for allegedly having a hand in the death of his 41-year-old neighbour.

Zomba Police spokesperson Patricia Sipiliano has identified the suspect as Chester Chalila and the deceased as Julio M’balira.

According to Sipiliano, the suspect and the deceased were good friends and lived in the same village as neighbours.

In June 2023, the deceased went missing after selling his piece of land. This prompted the villagers to ask the suspect about the whereabouts of his friend since he was staying alone but his response did not convince them.

Suspicious of his response, the villagers reported the matter to Zomba Police station. Following the report, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers carried out investigations which led to the discovery of M’balira’s body in a pit behind his house with legs tied up.

Postmortem conducted showed that the death was due to a broken neck. Meanwhile, the Police have arrested Chalira for questioning.

Chalila hails from M’dama village in Traditional Authority Mpando in Ntcheu district.