By Isaac Salima:
Suspects in the murder of medical Dr. Victoria Bobe on Wednesday led police officers to the house of the deceased in Chigumula Township, Blantyre City, where they demonstrated how they committed the crime.
For about an hour, the suspects took time to explain to a team of investigators about how they carried out their mission.
Police have identified the six suspects as Raphael Msalamanyama Mano (35), who is an ex-police and former intelligence officer from Gaza Province in Mozambique; Issah Ali (47) from Mangochi District; Santos Chamamba (54) from Blantyre; Maxwell Eliya (52) from Nsanje District; Charles Chikafa (62) from Zomba; and Peter Chimenya (50) from Chiradzulu District.
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Led by Detective Inspector- cum- team leader Christopher Pangeti from South West Region, the officers took the suspects to the scene of the alleged crime, where they showed the officers how they drilled through a brick fence to get into the premises.
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They alleged that they were in touch with a guard.
One of the suspects, Eliya, told the officers that they did not enter the house and that their role was only to create an access point into the premises.
“While we were outside, we only heard the sound of a gunshot and, then, we saw him [Chikafa, the alleged team leader]—who directed that we leave the premises,” he said.
The suspects were then asked about their intention for the crime, of which they said it was to rob those of the house.
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“Why did you carry the gun?” Pangeti asked Mano, who responded by pointing at Chikafa, apparently asking him to answer the question.
However, Chikafa did not respond to the question.
The suspects were also asked about how they identified the place, to which Chikafa responded, alleging that they were in touch with a guard at the house.
“Do not implicate a guard. He knows nothing about this,” Eliya interjected.
However, the suspects did not disclose who carried a gun and who shot the medical doctor.
Instead, they kept on pointing fingers at each other, mainly on the issue pertaining to who pulled the trigger.
They, also, did not say if there was anybody who sent them on the mission.
The officers and the suspects did not enter the house where the crime was allegedly committed and returned to Limbe Police Station with the suspects.
The suspects are being kept at the station pending a court appearance.
The demonstration attracted community members, who also witnessed how the suspects were doing the demonstration.
This was happening when Victoria’s widower, Yamikani, and other relations were watching and visibly traumatised.
Bobe, who was a lecturer at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences and medical doctor at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, was killed on November 17, 2025 after being shot at.
The matter attracted the attention of the general public, with parliamentarians, who were meeting in Lilongwe at the time of the doctor’s death, calling for swift action on the matter.
A statement by Malawi Police Service spokesperson Lael Chimtembo indicated that they are still investigating the matter to find out the whereabouts of two more suspects.
