By Watipaso Mzungu:
Malawians are no longer asking. They are demanding. Apostle Joseph Ziba, founder of Fountain of Victory Church International, must come out and tell the nation what he knows.
He must tell the nation what he knows about his senior Bishop, Medran Chirwa, arrested by Dowa Police in connection with the brutal murder of 31-year-old FDH Bank employee Tathokoza Salimu.
And he must tell the nation what he knows about his own arrest over K26 million in alleged unpaid taxes on his luxury Range Rover.
For too long, Fountain of Victory has preached victory while hiding behind silence when tough questions come. That silence must end now.
On 21 September 2026, a black Subaru Impreza registration BZ 21709 was found abandoned at Chinkhota Village near Tatolonga Bridge along the Dzaleka-Dowa Boma road, engine still running. Inside, according to Dowa Police spokesperson Alice Sitima, was Salimu slumped in the front passenger seat in a pool of blood with a wound to the neck, her FDH Bank teller ID, smartphone and driver’s licence beside her.
Police say call records show Bishop Chirwa and the deceased were together on the day of the alleged murder. The bishop has been arrested as part of ongoing investigations and police say they are pursuing other suspects. He has not been convicted and remains innocent until proven guilty under the Constitution.
But Bishop Chirwa is not an ordinary Malawian. He is a senior leader of Fountain of Victory, a church where the deceased was reportedly a congregant. That spiritual authority comes with moral responsibility. Malawians want to know from the head of that church: What was the relationship between his bishop and this young banker? When did the church know about it? What has the church done since the arrest? Has Bishop Chirwa been suspended? Has Apostle Ziba reached out to Salimu’s family, to FDH Bank, to his own congregation that is now scared and confused?
Apostle Ziba cannot preach about light overcoming darkness while his church operates in darkness, Malawians are arguing. If he truly believes in the presumption of innocence he must also believe in the principle of transparency.
Then there is the second scandal sitting directly on Ziba’s own doorstep. The Apostle himself was arrested and granted bail by the Blantyre Magistrate’s Court for allegedly failing to pay K26 million in taxes and penalties linked to his luxury Range Rover. K26 million that should have built classrooms, bought drugs in hospitals, and fixed roads — money taken from the very taxpayers who fill his offering baskets every Sunday.
If a street vendor in Limbe is chased by MRA for K50,000, why should a man of God who drives a Range Rover be allowed to allegedly evade K26 million and still preach prosperity? Malawians deserve a direct answer from Ziba himself: Did he pay duty on that vehicle? If not, why not? Has he now paid the money? Where does Fountain of Victory get its millions and who audits it?
This is no longer about social media branding the church a “cult” or about defenders warning against a social media trial. Commentator Albert Mwanyongo is right that many have already investigated, prosecuted and sentenced Bishop Chirwa online before police have finished their work. That is dangerous and unfair. Police themselves say investigations are ongoing.
But demanding truth from a church leader is not persecution. It is accountability. As Mwanyongo himself said, “Because a life has been lost, we owe the deceased the truth. And that truth can only come from a proper and impartial investigation, not from rumours.”
The truth must start from the pulpit.
Apostle Joseph Ziba must not send junior pastors or press officers. He must face Malawians himself, in a press conference or official statement, and explain what he knows about Bishop Medran Chirwa’s movements on the day Tathokoza Salimu died, what internal action the church has taken, and whether he as founder will cooperate fully with Dowa Police without invoking spiritual immunity.
And he must explain his own tax case without hiding behind blessings. Malawians who pay tax on every packet of sugar cannot be lectured about giving to God by a leader who allegedly cannot give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
Fountain of Victory calls itself a fountain. Right now it looks like a black box.
Tathokoza Salimu was 31 years old. She had a life, a family, a career at FDH. She was found dead in blood. Her family is not asking for a miracle. They are asking for truth.
Apostle Ziba, the nation is listening. What do you know?
This is the opinion of the writer and does not reflect the stand of the publication.
