Police link Issa Njauju murder to Cashgate
Police have admitted that investigations into Cashgate by government agencies could be the reason Anti-Corruption Bureau Director of Finance and Administration Issa Njauju was gruesomely murdered by some assailants two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the police have questioned a number of people relating to the murder, but no arrests have been made as of yet.
The law enforcers have also hinted that the murder of Njauju could have been mistaken identity as some officers from the same office, including ACB Director Lukas Kondowe and his Deputy Reyneck Matemba had been receiving threats prior to the slaying of the official.
Briefing the media on Wednesday in Lilongwe, Director of Training at police headquarters Richard Luhanga said the police are pursuing a number of conspiracy theories.
“We cannot rule out that the murder is connected to his work, what we are doing right now is to connect the dots. This is a crime of impact and according to our intelligence, there is a sequence of events. We are also following up on the events that took place before the day Njauju was killed,’ said Luhanga.
The senior commissioner of police also acknowledged the school of thought that the murder of Njauju could be a mistaken identity.
Said Luhanga: “It’s quite surprising that the people who are receiving threats are not the ones who have ended up in this heinous crime. As police we are looking at all angles. We know there are people out there who know exactly what happened on the day that is why we have put up a reward of K1.5 million for anyone who can assist with information.”
According to Luhanga, the police are now providing security 24/7 to officials at ACB as well as officers at the Director of Public Prosecutions and other prosecuting agencies involved in the Cashgate investigations and prosecution.
“We are not taking any chance that is why now we have additional security officers guarding the ACB offices. We are also providing security to all investigators,” said Luhanga.
Luhanga refused to identify the suspects, saying he did not want to jeopardize investigations.
Njauju went missing on July 2 and his body was discovered half buried behind Presidential Villas in Lilongwe. The body had bullet wounds on the neck and stomach, according to post-mortem results.
Njauju’s official vehicle, a Toyota Hilux double cabin was later found burnt along Ntandire road in the city.
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