Malawi murder: South Africans may have been followed

Wakeford was shot and killed as he fought with robbers who had tried to force their way into the tent of a female travelling companion in Karonga.

Wakeford had been with Warwick Bruce Chapman, executive director of information at the DA’s head office, and a team of others who travelled through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, and Rwanda to the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The group had set up camp at a lodge after one of the vehicles in their convoy had broken down.

Followed

Speaking to News24, Chapman said that Wakeford’s body had been taken from a district mortuary to a hospital in the capital of Lilongwe.

“He has arrived at Kamuzu Central Hospital where the autopsy will be conducted. Once it has been completed then his body can be handed over to the insurance company that will be responsible for his repatriation back to South Africa,” he said.

Chapman said that Malawian law enforcement officers had indicated that their group may have been followed for several days by the men that attacked them.

“As far as the case is concerned the last information we had from the police is that they suspected the involvement of Tanzanians working in concert with Malawians and that their information suggested that we had been followed from the border post over the course of three days.

“The police seem quite serious about investigating the crime and trying to find the perpetrators,” he said.

Safest route home

“As far as the trip is concerned we are driving in one vehicle to Lilongwe and should arrive in the afternoon carrying the broken gearbox.

“Parts flown in should arrive tomorrow [Tuesday] evening and we will get to fixing that and once we have a fixed gearbox and we know Harry is on his way home we will return to South Africa in both vehicles.

“We are currently looking at the safest route home and it is quite a difficult decision to make so we are gathering as much information as possible before we make the call,” he said.