On February 19 this year, a gun totting police officer shot at Kingsley Kanyenda thrice near Raiply road block in Mzimba district.

To date, three government bullets are lodged in Kanyenda’s upper thigh. He cannot earn bread for his home.

Police claim that Kanyenda was shot trying to steal from a police truck. But Kanyenda tells a different story.

He says he was shot while helping a colleague load wooden beds into the back of a police truck. In fact, Kanyenda recalls overhearing the driver of the police trooper asking his fellow officer why he shot the civilian.

Said Kanyenda, "while we were loading the beds a small van which was also being driven by police officers pulled up in front of the truck, an officer came out of the van and started chatting with the driver of the trooper."

Kanyenda recalls that when he came down from the back of the truck, that's when he was shot.

Said Kanyenda, "when I turned to see what was happening I heard the sound of a gun and I fell into a drain, while I was down I heard the police officer who was the driver of the trooper asking his friend as to why he had shot me and he said he thought I was a thief, but the driver of the trooper told him that these people are only helping in loading the beds, they want to go to Jenda. 

As of now to be honest am relying on pain killers if I stay a day without taking pain killers I feel like needles piercing me where they shot me"

Such assertions from Kanyenda are collaborated by his friend, Joseph Phiri, who was working with him when loading the wooden beds into the police truck.

He also recalls the incident as well.

Said Phiri, " We were all afraid with the sound of the gun, we were all afraid we didn't know who has been shot and why, all of us were confused not knowing that the police officers were together."

A bullet casing left behind after the incident is inscribed PSD 15.

And after the shooting, the police vehicle which carried the beds and the van sped-off in the direction of Lilongwe.

That is the last they heard of them.

Kanyenda was left lying in a pool of his own blood in a drain not far from Raiply road block in Chikangawa, Mzimba.
 
It was actually his friends who took him to the nearby police road block where a brief statement was taken before he was rushed to Chikangawa Health Center from where he was referred to Mzimba district Hospital.

Said Kanyenda, " My friends took me to the road block with blood oozing from the right thigh, where they got a brief statement before telling us to go to the health center where they refered me to Mzimba district hospital"

Kanyenda, aged 39, wants the three bullets’ fragments removed from his thigh. He is now home. Unproductive. Living a nightmare. Kanyenda can neither walk nor run errands as before.

His inlaw Anna Chihana is equally saddened by what has happened to him. Chihana cannot come to terms with what happened to her inlaw who now is at the mercy of pain killers, three bullet's fragments logged in his right thigh.

Said Chihana," My inlaw has been helping us a lot but after this happened we are facing challenges, we are struggling to fend for the children as he is no longer doing business, everything is down, am very sad I ask myself as what really happened on that day"

Chihana wants non governmental organizations to intervene on the matter - at least for her inlaw to have the bullet's fragments removed from his thigh.

Life for his family of four is now tough. Ironically, after the incident Kanyenda has neither been arrested, charged with an offence nor taken to court. 

Brighton Mwase is Officer-in-Charge for Mzimba police. He says the matter is now at regional level, describing it as being beyond his office.

Regional police spokesperson, Maurice Chapola, acknowledges knowledge of the incident but insists that Kanyenda was shot at while trying to steal from a police vehicle.

Said Chapola, " All I can confirm is that we are investigating a case in which our officer reportedly shot a suspect who attempted to steal from a police vehicle at Chikangawa along the M1 road in Mzimba and it's on record that the suspect escaped"

Chapola's response on the matter begs a number of questions.

If indeed Kanyenda was shot trying to steal, why is there no attempted theft police case against him? Why was he not arrested when a statement was taken from him at Raiply road block? 

But Kanyenda is not just sitting. He has hired lawyers to help him seek justice and probably compensation.

In his medical report which we have seen, Mzimba District Hospital head of the surgical department, Onesmus Chipula, says Kanyenda presented with gunshot wounds on 19 February.

We verified the authenticity of the report with Health Promotion Officer for Mzimba South, Ellings Nyirenda.

Said Ellings Nyirenda, " After consulting relevant officers I can confirm that we treated him here and we gave him a medical report, that's what I can say on the matter"

The surgeon, Chipula, in his report decreed that it would be professionally risky to try to remove the bullet fragments from Kanyenda's thigh.

The matter has sparked public debate on police brutality. And of course speculation that the trigger-happy police officer may be senior at Area 30 and is now enjoying cover-up from his colleagues

Kanyenda's shooting has also attracted attention of human rights activists.

Gift Trapence is chairperson for Human Rights Defenders Coalition - HRDC.

He expects Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and the Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) to probe the matter.

Trapence also says the ministry of health has a duty to ensure Kanyenda accesses the care he needs.

Said Trapence, "We are concerned with the health of the victim and it's important for the police to take up the issue at the same time we are calling on the Malawi Human Rights Commission to intervene on the matter by investigating the issue and to come up with recommendations to make sure that there is justice but at the same time we are calling on the ministry of health to assist this individual with necessary medical support is given to this citizen of Malawi"

Director of Civil and Political rights at the Malawi Human Rights Commission Peter Chisi describes what happened as direct infringement of rights and retrogressive.

Chisi says this is a clear matter which shows violation of human rights, a number of rights for that matter particularly the right to human dignity because of the treatment that Kanyenda suffered and also the right to medical assistance considering that he still has injuries which need be treated.

Said Chisi," We are taking it up but we are calling on stakeholders including the victim himself to provide us with more information so that it can help us as we commence investigations it is also our that this matter though requiring the attention of the Malawi Human Rights Commission it also calls upon the attention of our colleagues at the independent complaints commission as they are mandate to work on such matters"

Happy Njalammano speaks for the Independent Complaints Commission-ICC.

Said Njalammano, " As ICC we are going to launch investigations into this issue to determine what really happened as it is within our mandate though it might be difficult now to conclusively say the time frame for the investigations but as ICC we are going to take this matter up and investigate"

What happened to Kingsley Kanyenda is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked police power.

Even where Kanyenda was indeed a thief picking stuff from a police van, he should not have been shot.

And not in the back. Without a warning. Three times. And at a subject that was not armed in any way.

Kanyenda posed no threat to the police. It is, therefore, imperative that authorities address police brutality.

The mandate of the Malawi Police is clear: To protect life and property. To uphold the rule of law.

As for Kanyenda, his plea stands, "I want justice on this issue, I want these bullet fragments removed from my thigh".