Malawi’s ex-deputy speaker commits suicide in Parliament

Lilongwe: In Malawi, a high-ranking former deputy speaker, Clement Chiwaya shot himself in the head inside parliament, where he had gone for a meeting. 

Mr Chiwaya was a wheelchair user after he contracted polio at the age of two and served as Malawian deputy speaker between 2014 and 2019.

Shortly before the shooting, the lawmaker left a suicide note in which he wrote the dispute he had with parliamentary officials over the ownership of a specially adapted vehicle. 

After stepping down as deputy speaker he began a process to allow him to buy the car provided by parliament that enabled him to drive despite his disability.

As per reports, the former deputy speaker paid for the vehicle but he accused parliament of failing to transfer ownership. 

According to media reports, Mr Chiwaya entered the office of the clerk of parliament on Thursday and shot himself with the clerk watching.

In his note, he said he was tired of begging for what belonged to him and said he took his own life for fear of “hurting others”.

An official statement was released after the ex-MP’s death, stating that the matter was still in court.

Born in 1971, Mr Chiwaya became a disability rights activist and successfully ran as an MP three times.

Police, however, is investigating how he was able to enter parliament with a loaded pistol, which is usually under heavy security. 

In its statement parliament said that security officials thought that it was his wheelchair that triggered the metal detectors.