Chilobwe murders

The Chilobwe murders were a series of murders, numbering at least thirty killings, which took place over several months starting in November 1968 in the suburbs of Blantyre, Malawi, particularly in Chilobwe. A number of rumours grew up around these murders, and many blamed them on the South African Government which, according to various popular accounts, wanted repayment of loans it had given to the Malawi Government, either in human blood or by the enslavement of Malawians to work in South Africa. These rumours were politically damaging to the government of Hastings Banda, which cultivated friendly relations with South Africa's white minority government, and he treated the murders as a serious issue requiring urgent resolution. The murders were never fully solved. Several men were arrested in connection with the murders in 1969, but acquitted for lack of evidence. This caused popular outrage at the criminal justice system which, at that time, was still based on English law and practice. In 1970 another man, Walla Kawisa, made several confessions admitting to some of the murders. He was condemned to death and probably executed in May 1972. It is unlikely that the murders were the work of a single individual, and various theories have been proposed, some linking them to opposition to Banda. Banda himself blamed the murders on ex-ministers involved in the Cabinet Crisis of 1964, and removed Gomile Kumtumanji, a Member of Parliament cabinet minister for the Southern Region from office and had him tried for treason, allegedly for complicity in them.

Between September 1968 and March 1970, a large number of brutal murders occurred at night and in the victims' own homes in the suburbs of Malawi's largest city, Blantyre. At least 31 murders were said to have been committed by the same person or group, and they are collectively known as the Chilobwe murders. The murders were often accompanied by mutilation of the victims' bodies, and these mutilations were said to be suggestive of a belief in witchcraft or magic by whoever carried out the killings. Although these murders were particularly identified with the suburb of Chilobwe, they also took place in other areas. Many of the victims were poor and lived in housing with badly fitting doors and windows or unreliable locks, which offered little resistance to forced entry. The Government's failure to make any arrests caused panic and led to criticism of the police and government. One persistent rumour was that the Government was itself responsible for the murders, and had drained the victims' blood to send to South Africa.

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