Cannabis regulator Ras Chikomeni held over 19.2 kg of chamba
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.
🇲🇼 Jenda police roadblock, Mzimba district · Malawi
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Arrested
2
Charged
2
Cannabis
19.2 kg
David Chikomeni Chirwa, 49, a board member of Malawi’s Cannabis Regulatory
Authority, was arrested with Storm Kandodo, 45, at the Jenda police roadblock in
Mzimba district on the night of 6 August 2026.[1][2]The two were travelling from
Lilongwe to Mzuzu in a Toyota Sienta, registration BW 2336, when officers searched
the vehicle and found 19.2 kg of cannabis sativa.[3]Neither could produce a
permit to possess or transport it.[1]Police seized the cannabis.[2]
Jenda police spokesperson Sub-Inspector Gladwell Simwaka said the two would be
charged with being found in possession of cannabis sativa without a permit.[1]Chirwa appeared in court on Friday 7 August and was granted bail, and he and
Kandodo are due to appear again.[4]
Chirwa, a Rastafarian known as Ras Chikomeni, sought the presidency in 2020 but did
not make the ballot, and was appointed to the cannabis board after the Democratic
Progressive Party’s victory in the 2025 election.[2]
Photos and video
Two men stand behind sacks and containers of cannabis after the Jenda roadblock arrest. Source: 247 Malawi
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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.
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.
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.