Three women held in Kasungu with three bags of chamba
Police in Kasungu arrested three women on a Tuesday in October 2020 after separate searches found each travelling with bags of cannabis sativa, locally called chamba or Indian hemp. Two were stopped at a roadblock at Chasazima and the third at the Kasungu Prison junction, and all three were to appear in court on possession charges.
Police in Kasungu arrested three women at two locations on the same day, a
Tuesday, after each was allegedly found travelling with bags of cannabis sativa,
known in Malawi as chamba or Indian hemp.[1]Kasungu police spokesperson Harry
Namwaza said detectives stopped the first two around midnight at Chasazima after
a tip that they had boarded a vehicle from the direction of Mzimba towards
Kasungu.[1]He identified the two as 45-year-old Ireen Banda and Mercy
Nyirenda, both from Mazwoka village in Mzimba district.[1]At a police
roadblock the officers searched the vehicle and found two bags full of loose
cannabis sativa, and arrested both women on the spot.[1]
The third, 35-year-old Jennifer Zulu of Zulu village, Traditional Authority
Mkanda in Mchinji district, was arrested at the Kasungu Prison junction with a
bag full of chamba.[1]Namwaza said she was picked up after a member of the
public told police she was in a lorry coming from the Chatoloma direction
towards Kasungu.[1]Police said the three would appear in court soon on
charges of being found in possession of cannabis sativa.[1]
Photos and video
Two of the three women arrested at Kasungu with bags of cannabis sativa, in a handout photo published with the police account. Photo: Kasungu PolicePhoto details
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 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.
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 in Blantyre arrested Castel Malawi Limited chief Herve Milhad on 8 April 2022 for allegedly growing cannabis at his Kabula Heights home, seizing 5 grams and uprooting 59 plants. He was granted police bail the same day pending laboratory verification and a court appearance.
