A chief from Dowa district in Malawi is under police custody after he allegedly failed to explain the whereabouts of 99 fertiliser subsidy coupons meant for distribution in his area.
Police Spokesperson Kondwani Kandiado said Group Village Headman Malenga was given the coupons to distribute to his subjects but could not produce them on the day of distribution. The chief is said to have left the coupons in his kitchen but when he went back to collect them for distribution, he found they were missing.
"The villagers started stoning his house and we had to rush there to rescue him," the police spokesperson said.
The villagers suspected the chief to have sold the coupons because none of his property was stolen when the coupons allegedly went missing.
The arrest of the chief comes barely a week after another chief from the same area was picked for allegedly being in possession of the coupons.
Moreover, police in Dowa arrested two businesspersons for being found in possession of 50 bags of fertiliser suspected to have been stolen.
Nyasa Times
