MP arrested for hitting traffic officer

Member of Parliament for Ntcheu North-East Arthur Chipungu has spent a night in police custody after six days on the run for allegedly hitting a traffic officer with a motor vehicle.

Public Relations Officer for Malawi Police Service Peter Kalaya confirmed the arrest of Chipungu on Monday

According to Kalaya, Chipungu, accompanied by his lawyer, handed himself over to Police at National Headquarters in Lilongwe.

Kalaya said Chipungu has been charged with three counts of reckless driving, failure to render assistance to a victim and acts intended to cause grievous harm.

Chipungu who is a member of Vice President Saulos Chilima’s UTM Party committed the alleged crimes on Tuesday last week along the presidential way between Bingu Stadium and Area 18 Interchange.

Kalaya said last week that the traffic officer ordered Chipungu to stop and the legislator briefly stopped before starting his vehicle again and “intentionally” hitting the police officer.

The police officer was taken to hospital by fellow officers and was treated as an outpatient.