EPISODE 8 (2026): AS THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH CONTINUES.
The post-mortem examination on Evison Matafale’s body conducted by Dr Charles Dzamalala on 28 November 2001 identified subdural haemorrhage affecting both temporal regions of the head, which he attributed to moderate blunt force trauma. Furthermore, Dr Charles Dzamalala identified this haemorrhage as the cause of death.
Rather than accepting Dr Charles Dzamalala’s findings, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the death of Evison Matafale subsequently questioned the validity of the autopsy report, describing it as exaggerated and inconsistent with normal pathological and clinical expectations.
The Presidential Commission of Inquiry ultimately concluded that Evison Matafale most likely died of malaria and acute bronchitis/bronchopneumonia.
Both the Presidential Commission of Inquiry and the Human Rights Committee of Inquiry established by the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) dismissed allegations of physical assault on Evison Matafale while in police custody.
Twenty-five years later, the question is not simply what the two inquiries concluded. It is whether their investigations adequately established what really happened to Evison Matafale, leading to his death on 27 November 2001.
The search for truth should continue!