Four arrested with cannabis in Balaka township sweep
Police arrested four people aged 17 to 27 during a sweeping exercise in Balaka Township on 31 October 2026 for possessing cannabis sativa without a licence. Two were found with loose cannabis and 15 twists in a plastic lid; two with loose cannabis in glass bottles and two packets of hemp rolling papers. All four, from Traditional Authority Nsamala, will appear in court.
🇲🇼 Balaka Township, Balaka District · Malawi
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Arrested
4
Police in Balaka arrested four people for allegedly possessing cannabis
sativa, known locally as chamba, without a licence.[1]The suspects,
Chimwemwe Wilson, 27, Gift Mazoko, 24, Andrew Chigonjetso, 17, and Trevor
Kazembe, 24, were arrested on Saturday afternoon, 31 October 2026, during a
sweeping exercise within Balaka Township.[1]
Mazoko and Wilson were found with loose cannabis sativa and 15 twists placed
in a plastic lid, while Kazembe and Chigonjetso were found with loose
cannabis sativa in glass bottles and two packets of hemp rolling papers
respectively.[1]
The four, who come from Traditional Authority Nsamala in Balaka District,
will appear before court soon to answer charges of illegal possession of
cannabis sativa without a licence.[1]
Police in Dedza arrested 46-year-old Mayamiko Empraim on suspicion of supplying chamba to three pupils aged 13 to 15 at Kapalamula Primary School. He was in custody and expected to face a charge of possessing cannabis sativa after a school outreach programme led to the report.
Police at an adhoc roadblock at Phalula, Balaka, stopped a KelFoods company van travelling from Lilongwe to Blantyre on 23 October 2026 and found 26 bags of chamba hidden under 135 bags of maize and egg crates. Driver George Benson, 41, said he loaded the cannabis at Chilanga, Kasungu, for delivery to a woman in Blantyre.
Malawi police arrested David Chikomeni Chirwa, a board member of the Cannabis Regulatory Authority, and Storm Kandodo at the Jenda roadblock on the night of 6 August 2026 after finding 19.2 kg of cannabis they could not show a permit for. Chirwa was granted bail at his first court appearance the next day.
Police at Kaombe roadblock in Nkhotakota stopped a minibus travelling from Dwangwa to Salima on the night of 3 August 2014 and found 43 bags of cannabis. James Kamanga was arrested after officers shot out a tyre; his companion escaped.
