A police detective has told the High Court in Lilongwe that Amos Katengeza implicated his sister Egnat in the alleged planning of Agnes Katengeza’s murder, while investigators also traced electronic devices belonging to the deceased to people linked to Amos.
Detective Sub-Inspector Penjani Ng’ambi, the State’s 13th witness, told Justice Bruno Kalemba that Amos was questioned in September 2023 and allegedly said he could not have killed Agnes simply over electronic gadgets.
Ng’ambi said Amos instead told investigators that the murder had been planned with Egnat, who was listed as the sole beneficiary of Agnes’ pension fund at the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM).
The witness said police followed up on the information by cautioning Egnat and obtaining RBM documents confirming her nomination as the pension beneficiary.
Both Amos and Egnat were later questioned and jointly charged with murder. Ng’ambi said Amos exercised his right to remain silent during questioning.
The court also heard how police traced some of Agnes’ missing electronic devices after her disappearance in September 2023.
Ng’ambi said Amos told investigators that Agnes had an iPhone 13 when she went missing. Police traced the phone’s call records and found that it had been switched off on the day she disappeared, with its last detected location being her residence.
Investigators later checked the phone’s IMEI number but found no evidence that another SIM card had been used in the device.
The witness further told the court that Egnat had disclosed that an iPhone 6 had earlier been stolen from Agnes’ bedroom, although the theft had not been reported to police.
According to Ng’ambi, investigators traced the iPhone 6 to Blantyre, where Mphatso Nyamasauka allegedly told them he had received it from Amos.
Nyamasauka also allegedly told investigators that Amos had Agnes’ iPhone 13, HP laptop, iPad and other electronic devices. Some of the devices were produced in court.
The State further presented evidence concerning WhatsApp messages recovered from Agnes’ phone.
Ng’ambi said investigators managed to retrieve conversations dating from 2019 to 2023 but could not recover messages from the crucial June to September 2023 period.
The detective said investigators had struggled to recover the missing communications.
Amos and Egnat remain on remand as the murder trial continues.
