Update On Malawi's Ex-Deputy Speaker Of Parliament Who Shot Himself Inside Parliament

Malawi’s former Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Clement Chiwaya, who shot himself in the head with a pistol on Thursday died instantly.

Clement Chiwaya, who moved in a wheelchair, had gone to the building on Thursday to discuss vehicle benefits entitled to him when he left office two years ago. Parliament said in a statement:

The incident is in relation to frustration with the implementation of his conditions of service.

Chiwaya, who was 50, 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. The parliament’s statement said:

Honorable Chiwaya was involved in an accident while using his purchased vehicle. Unfortunately, the comprehensive insurance had expired at the time of the accident.

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Chiwaya retiring from active politics in 2018 after joining politics in 2003 following his return from the United States of America.

He was in the news in June this year when he won a case in which he accused Parliament of failing to process a change of ownership for his official car despite paying the purchase price.

The inquiry learnt that Chiwaya failed to insure the car as it was still in the government’s name and that things got complicated when the car, which was modified to suit his physical disability, was involved in an accident.

The statement from parliament appeared to suggest that Chiwaya had secretly brought a gun into the high-security building. It reads:

Having been a person with a disability, the [security] scanner alerts were deemed to be from the wheelchair.

Following the incident, parliament will enhance security measures for all categories of visitors to the Parliament building.

A source at parliament told the AFP news agency that Chiwaya shot himself in the head inside the office of the clerk of parliament, Fiona Kalembera.

More: Pindula News; This article was edited to add information on the reason behind Chiwaya’s visit, his death and how he managed to smuggle the gun into Parliament. Additional information by AFP News Agency.