By Canisius Mushibwe
A former renowned Malawian Member of Parliament (MP) has shot himself to death following a vehicle ownership wrangle.
Clement Chiwaya, who was aided by a wheelchair for his movement since the age of two because of a sickness, allegedly pulled the trigger while he was in the office of the clerk in parliament on Thursday.
Local media reports reveal that the deceased shot himself and breathed his last as the clerk watched.
Chiwaya who served as deputy speaker between 2014 and 2019 left a note ahead of the incident narrating the dispute with some Parliament officials over the ownership of a vehicle that allowed him to drive despite his disability.
After stepping down as deputy speaker, the former MP began to process the purchasing of the specialty vehicle which Parliament allowed and he, later on, paid for it. However, Chiwaya accused Parliament of failing to transfer ownership to him.
In a statement released after the ex-MP’s demise, the speaker’s office said that the matter was yet to be decided on as it is still in court.
In his last note, Chiwaya said he was tired of begging for something that belonged to him.” I have taken my own life for fear of hurting others,” he wrote.
Chiwaya, 51, became a disability rights activist and ran as an MP three times.
Police have now started investigations on how the deceased was able to enter parliament with a loaded pistol without being detected by security. But the speaker’s office said security officials thought the metal detector was triggered by his wheelchair.
