A former deputy speaker in Malawi on Thursday shot himself in the head in parliament, where he had gone for a meeting, official parliament sources have revealed.
The deputy speaker by name Clement Chiwaya, who was 50, reportedly killed himself inside the parliament building, where he had gone to discuss vehicle benefits entitled to him when he left office in 2019.
Police spokesperson James Kadadzera confirmed the incident but declined to give details until he had received a full report from investigators.
Parliament ‘regrets to inform the public that the former deputy speaker… committed suicide at the parliament building,’ it said in a statement.
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It said the incident was linked to ‘frustration with the implementation of his conditions of service.’
Chiwaya bought his official vehicle at the end of his five-year term in 2019, as provided for in his contract.
But he had tried to get parliament to pay for damages incurred in an accident that happened six months later.
He took the case to court. The legal process is still pending.
The statement from parliament appeared to suggest that Chiwaya, who moved in a wheelchair, had sneaked a gun into the high-security building.
‘Having been a person with a disability, the (security) scanner alerts were deemed to be from the wheelchair,’ it said.
A source at parliament told reporters that Chiwaya shot himself in the head inside the office of the clerk of parliament, Fiona Kalembera.
Africa Daily News, New York gathered that before he became deputy speaker, he had previously served as a member of parliament from 2004.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
