Police at Chinyolo in Rumphi have arrested a 40 year-old man, for stealing goods in transit from Karonga to Mzuzu at South Rukuru bridge along M1 road and subsequently wounding the driver in the district.
Public Relations Officer for Rumphi Police Station,Sub Inspector Noel Kamchenga, has confirmed the arrest and idenfied the suspect as Sankhani Chisale .
Lapotwe, who is also a truck driver, met his fate on July 1, 2024 when he was driving a truck belonging to Mussa Transport loaded with bags of maize from Karonga heading towards Mzuzu and 8 bags of maize were offloaded from the moving vehicle by the suspect.
In his statement, Lapotwe said that when he was approaching South Rukuru Bridge he noticed that two people had climbed the truck and were stealing bags of maize by throwing them down along the road sides.
The driver stopped and was thereafter, assaulted by Chisale in an attempt to stop him from stealing his goods.
Police officers from Chiweta police unit who were on vehicle patrols received the report and rushed to the scene where they managed to recover 5 bags of maize from Chisale’s house and 3 bags along the road sides.
Since then Chisale and his accomplice have been on the run until September 16, 2024 when he was arrested at Phwezi trading centre.
The suspect will appear before court to answer charges of stealing goods in transit and acts intended to cause grievous harm against sections 282 and 235 respectively of the penal code, upon completion of paper work.
Sankhani Chisale hails from Kaliwo village, Traditional Authority Njikula in Mzimba district.