Malawi Daily Mail and Breaking News. THREE TRUCK DRIVERS DIE IN FRACAS AFTER DPP RALLY, AS MUTHARIKA FLEES TO NDATA There was commotion outside Peter Mutharikas residence in Nyambadwe three hours ago when a host of truck drivers tried to invade his home to ask for payment which was promised to them. Soon after the DPP rally at Njamba, many supporters who were ferried from districts outside Blantyre had a rude awakening when their drivers refused to start off as they held a caucus to discuss payment issues with the partys Organising Secretary, Chimwemwe Chipungu. The caucus, however, did not proceed well as Chipungu insisted that the party was going to arrange payment within the week through the owners of the trucks. According to one of the drivers, Sylvester Josiya, what caused the fracas was a sudden change of program. Our initial agreement with the truck owners was that the party was going to give the drivers their allowances after the rally and make other payments to owners within the week. We were however surprised when Chipungu made a u-turn on the issue when we approached him after the function, he said. To express their anger more, the drivers drove in one truck to Peter Mutharikas home and sought an audience with him. But upon arrival, they were restrained by armed guards. In the fracas that ensued, the guards fired in the air but as their scaring methods failed to yield they fired straight at some of the drivers and wounded three. The wounded were rushed to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) where they died an hour later. As all this was happening, Mutharika was sneaked out of the compound and cruised to Ndata Farm to seek refuge at Callista Mutharikas residence. As we write, police are at Ndata to establish the truth behind the fracas while hundreds of supporters are stranded at Njamba Park. Police is trying to negotiate with the remaining drivers to ferry the people back to their respective homes.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:58:22 +0000