By Mphatso Nkuonera, Education Ministry, Public Relations Officer (PRO)
BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Police in Chikwawa have incarcerated a man for being suspected of stealing and vandalising electrical fittings worth millions of tax-payers’ money at Chikwawa Teacher Training College (TTC).
Confirming the development, Chikwawa Police Station Public Relations Officer, Sergeant Dickson Matemba said more arrests are looming following the information that they have gathered.
“We have already recovered some of the electrical fittings believed to have been stolen from Chikwawa TTC. This arrest will lead to more suspects being apprehended soon.
“We thank the community and other well-wishers for a tip that has led to the arrest of the first suspect. We may not divulge the particulars of the suspect now to avoid jeopardising our investigations,” he said.
According to Ministry of Education (MoE) the incident occurred on the night of 14th April, 2023 which compelled a shift of the opening dates of the college from 1st May, 2023 to 14th May, 2023.
Following this predicament, MoE issued a press statement on 27th April, 2023, titled ‘ Change of Dates of Opening for Students Selected to Chikwawa Teacher Training College ’ saying there was no way the facility could open as earlier announced as the damage is huge.
“Change has been necessitated by the theft and vandalism of electrical fittings in all the ten (10) male hostels that occurred on the night of 14th April, 2023. Rehabilitation of the vandalised property is underway and is expected to be completed by 13th May, 2023,” reads part of the press release signed by the Secretary for Education, Chikondano Mussa.
In an interview, Mussa said the ministry is looking forward to the recovery of more of the stolen electrical accessories.
She thanked the police for acting swiftly on the matter.
“We are very hopeful that more of the stolen electrical fittings will be recovered. This is a very worrisome development and very retrogressive.
“It requires millions of money to rehabilitate the vandalised fittings. Such huge resources would have been used for other equally important projects in a quest to increase easy access to education in the country,” Mussa explained.
She further appealed to communities around all academic institutions in the country to have a spirit of ownership and fully participate in safeguarding the learning facilities to prevent such incidences that, in turn, disturb teaching and learning.
