Police in Dowa have arrested a 41-year-old Bishop Medran Chirwa of Fountain of Victory Church based in Lilongwe for allegedly murdering 31-year-old Tathokoza Salimu, an employee of FDH Bank in the district.
Dowa Police Station Public Relations Officer Alice Sitima said Salimu was found dead inside a motor vehicle on September 21, 2026, at Chinkhota Village near Tatolonga Bridge along the Dzaleka–Dowa Boma Road.
Sitima said road users reported to police that they had found a vehicle parked along the road with its engine still running, and inside was the dead body of a woman lying in a pool of blood.
“Police officers rushed to the scene and discovered a black Subaru Impreza, registration number BZ 21709, with a female seated on the passenger’s seat in a pool of blood, with a wound on the neck,” she explained.
Upon searching the vehicle, officers recovered a driver’s license, smartphone, FDH Bank teller ID, and other documents, all bearing the name Tathokoza Salimu. Investigations established that the deceased was working with FDH Bank at Dzaleka Refugee Camp and was on holiday.
The body was taken to Dowa District Hospital Mortuary and later transferred to Mnthunzi Funeral Parlour in Lilongwe for postmortem examination, where it was determined that death was due to a penetrating neck injury with perforation of C2-C3 spine, consistent with gunshot wounds.
Police say investigations are still underway to trace and arrest other suspects connected to the case.
Bishop Chirwa, who comes from Kachaka Village, Traditional Authority Wasambo in Karonga District, will appear before court soon to answer a murder charge.
