He left home with a bicycle and two pieces of firewood. He arrived at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital with a bullet wound in his buttocks.

For 46-year-old Samuel Njoka, a security guard from Ngamwani 2 Village under Traditional Authority Kapichi in Thyolo, the evening ride to Luchenza on July 2, 2026 was meant to be ordinary. He works at Astep Private School. 

Strapped to his bicycle were two pieces of timber planks for firewood. Along the way, he was stopped by two police officers and Garda World Security guards on patrol at Eastern Produce of Malawi (EPM)'s Kumadzi Estate.

They asked where he got the wood. He said it was from his home. 

According to a situation report from Khonjeni Police Unit, that explanation angered Sergeant Thosi of G Division, who allegedly damaged Njoka’s bicycle and left him at the scene. Njoka did not retaliate. He went to estate management and asked for a dialogue. A meeting for both parties was set for the next morning. 

Friday, July 4, 10:00 a.m. at Kumadzi Estate offices. The room was supposed to hold a conversation about a damaged bicycle. It ended with gunfire instead. 

South East Region Police Spokesperson Edward Kabango says the discussion turned violent when Njoka allegedly attacked Sergeant Thosi with a panga knife. 

"The victim assaulted the police officer. He was allegedly armed with a panga knife. He called for support from his relatives who were outside and struggled with the officer to grab the gun. Despite warning shots fired into the air, the victim and his friends continued. In the process, he was accidentally shot in the buttocks. One Garda World guard was also injured and treated as an outpatient," Kabango explained. 

Police describe it as self-defence, an accident in the middle of a scuffle. However, the police flash report shows that anger was sparked after the officer refused to repair the damaged bicycle.

Within hours Njoka was moving through the health system. From Kumadzi to Khonjeni Health Centre, then to Thyolo District Hospital, and finally referred to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre for specialized treatment.

Thyolo District Hospital spokesperson Chipiliro Chanthinya confirmed the referral.

"He was here, but is now at Queen Elizabeth Hospital," she said.

Human rights principles are clear on this: every person deserves dignity, access to justice without intimidation, and the assurance that force by those in uniform will only be used when absolutely necessary and in proportion to the threat. 

Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) Spokesperson Happy Njalam'mano says they have opened a file on the matter.

"We have received the report and investigations will commence soon," he said.

While indicating that a police investigation is underway, Kabango maintains that the officers acted after warning shots failed to stop an attack, and that the injury happened as they tried to keep control of their firearm. 

As the police investigations continue, two accounts remain side by side in the same room, not speaking the same language. One speaks of an armed confrontation during mediation. The other speaks of a man stopped over firewood, whose complaint ended in hospital.

Human Rights Advocate Robert Mkwezalamba says this is an unacceptable occurrence, and both parties are to blame for excessive use of force resulting in violence and injury. 

"Njoka must be commended for reporting the incident of being stopped and his bicycle damaged to authorities at the estate. His reaction may confirm that he was innocent. However, he may have been further angered by the action of the police officer who was hiding under police uniform or authority and abused his mandate, resulting in the firing of shots and injury. We can't rule out the possibility of these individuals knowing each other and having personal hatred which was manifested in this incident," he said. 

Mkwezalamba, however, added that there was no justification for the police officer to go to the dialogue meeting with a loaded gun, and neither for Njoka to allegedly carry a panga knife.

"The two may have prepared for each other based on past confrontations or natural hatred. The meeting convener should have ensured a safe and harmonious environment before attempting to unite the two," he observed.

He advised, "In all fairness, people must avoid mob justice. The officers needed to simply apprehend Njoka and take him to their offices for questioning without being furious or confrontational to the extent of damaging the bicycle. It's obvious when Njoka went for dialogue he was already injured and was ready to retaliate, hence the occurrence."

According to Mkwezalamba, the police must learn to use non-violent means of restoring order to prevent citizen retaliation. 

"More so, the police leadership must clarify under what circumstances police officers are allowed to use force or live bullets against ordinary citizens," Mkwezalamba implored.

He said that the police must discipline their officers for causing the problem first, as evidenced by damaging the victim's bicycle. 

"The officers must be made to repair and compensate Njoka for the damaged bicycle and injury suffered. If he cannot be helped outrightly, he must proceed to seek legal redress, including reporting the matter to the Malawi Human Rights Commission in accordance with the laws," he recommended.

Theft of natural resources such as trees in the tea-growing districts of Thyolo and Mulanje is really rampant. To strengthen security, the tea companies hire armed police officers.

Traditional Authority Kapichi of the area says his inquiry established that Njoka carried wood planks which were produced from his Malaina tree. 

Meanwhile, the chief says the rate of tree and macadamia plunder in the estate has gone down, describing the relationship between his subjects and the estate as cordial.

"For some time now, there have been no issues of cutting down trees and conflicts with the estate. But what we have gathered is that Njoka became furious since there was no indication of helping him following the damage of his bicycle," he said.

Malawi’s laws, including Section 44 of the Police Act and the Firearms Act, allow security agencies such as the police, army, and prison officers to use firearms in their duties.

But while the Constitution emphasizes law, order, and human rights, the Thyolo incident is not uncommon. Evidence shows repeated shooting incidents, which include even security guards in other areas.

At the Chitakale Tea Estate in Mulanje, owned by Mulli Brothers Limited, the guards allegedly shoot community members who trespass into the company’s forest — or, in some cases, merely pass by.

One of the survivors is 47-year-old Stella Gama of Kumwamba Village, T/A Mabuka in Mulanje, who was allegedly shot by guards from Chitakale Tea Estate on June 11, 2025.

To this day, a mother of four is nursing a bullet lodged in her lungs.

“I was walking with my sister from the forest where I had fetched firewood when the guards shot me. The bullet pierced my back and went into my lungs. Doctors told me it cannot be removed,” Gama told us, struggling to breathe.

Medical scans confirm the bullet is embedded 50 millimeters deep, causing life-threatening complications.

Mulanje District Hospital spokesperson Peter Nason confirmed the case.

Nason said: “She was indeed treated at our hospital and later referred to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital for specialist attention. But both hospitals concluded the bullet could not be safely removed.”

Gama’s sister, Tereza Magaleta, witnessed the attack and said it did not stop at shooting.

“After she crawled into the tea fields with the bullet inside her, the guards caught us and took us to their factory offices. They assaulted us and detained another villager, Butao Willy. Later, Butao’s body was found at the mortuary with deep cuts,” Magaleta recounted.

To date, no one has been held accountable.

Now Thyolo is asking questions that go beyond the two pieces of firewood. Njoka had gone to seek redress for property allegedly damaged by the very people meant to enforce the law. He left with a gunshot wound. 

Two pieces of firewood. One bullet. And between them, a journey that has taken Samuel Njoka from his village to a hospital bed in Blantyre, and a district now asking: could this have ended any other way? Or is this the kind of justice citizens should expect when they knock on the door for answers?