Police in Lilongwe have rearrested a 25-year-old two-time ex-convict suspected of carrying out a series of violent motorcycle robberies, raising questions about how he remained at large despite multiple court convictions, authorities said.
Lilongwe Police spokesperson Inspector Hastings Chigalu said Peter Mwenyeveza was arrested last week following a manhunt linked to a recent spike in motorcycle robberies in which several victims were seriously injured or killed.
Investigators, according to Chigalu, also discovered that the suspect previously used the name Peter Mwale in earlier criminal cases.
“Upon interrogation, police established that despite identifying himself as Peter Mwale in other court convictions, Peter Mwenyeveza is the same individual who, over the past three years, has been convicted twice and sentenced to serve separate prison terms,” Chigalu said.
According to police records, Mwenyeveza was convicted in 2024 for cattle rustling in Mchinji District and sentenced to four years in prison.
In June this year, he was again convicted by a magistrate’s court in Lilongwe for motorcycle robberies and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.
“Despite these hefty sentences, we have arrested him again for similar offences. This prompted us to institute investigations to establish how he continued to find himself outside the prison walls,” Chigalu said.
In an interview, security expert Dr. Sherrif Kaisi has told Nthanda Times that the case reflects deeper structural problems within Malawi’s criminal justice system and requires coordinated scrutiny beyond the police or prison services alone.
“This case points to possible breakdowns at several stages of the criminal justice process, from the courts, to prisons, to custodial handovers between institutions.
“There must be a comprehensive, multi-agency investigation to determine whether procedures were followed and where responsibility lies,” said Kaisi.
Kaisi added that investigators must establish when and how the suspect exited custody after court appearances and whether there were failures in monitoring remandees.
“We need to trace the entire chain, from conviction to incarceration, from prison release to remand status. If someone is sentenced to five or six years and is back on the streets within a very short period, without even serving a year, then there is a serious lapse,” he said.
He warned that such cases erode public confidence in law enforcement and the justice system.
But in response, the Malawi Prison Services said Mwenyeveza was lawfully released from custody after benefiting from presidential amnesties and sentence remission.
Prison Services spokesperson Steve Meke told Nthanda Times that Mwenyeveza began serving a 48-month prison term at Lilongwe Prison on November 29, 2023, for cattle theft and was initially expected to be released on November 28, 2027.
“However, in the course of serving his sentence, he benefited from a number of presidential amnesties and the standard remission of sentence provided for under the law
“The first presidential amnesty was granted on March 31, 2024, which reduced his sentence by six months. On July 6, 2024, his sentence was further reduced by nine months, and on December 25, 2024, it was again reduced by six months,” clarified Meke.
Meke added that Mwenyeveza was ultimately released from Maula Prison on December 26, 2024, after all reductions were applied.
“He was later remanded to Maula Prison on June 16, 2025, and the following day, June 17, he was taken to court as a remandee under the custody of officers from the Malawi Police Service.
“He was again taken to court on July 3, 2025, still as a remandee and still under police custody. Since that time, he has never returned to Maula Prison either as a remandee or as a convicted prisoner,” added Meke.
Mwenyeveza hails from Kasina Village in Traditional Authority Kaphuka, Dedza District.