Robert Chasowa, a fourth year engineering student from the Polytechnic was buried on Monday afternoon September 26.

Chasowa's death has been called suicide by the Malawi Police. However, students at the Polytechnic and many other people do not believe that it was suicide and the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has indicated it will investigate his death.

“The police have made their investigations but we want to have an independent report. The note that he purportedly left does not specifically give the reasons why or how the boy died. We want to establish the truth,” MHRC's Kapito told Zodiak Radio.

The family of Chasowa are also not convinced that he committed suicide. Chasowa's sister Dinnah told Zodiak Radio that her brother could have written the note under duress. It is this note that police consider as a 'suicide note' .

Many doubt police suicide claims because Robert Chasowa's death comes at a time when government critics are being rounded and targeted in various attacks including arson.

Chasowa was a vice chairperson of a pressure group Youth for Freedom and Democracy, which publishes the Weekly Political Update, which has written stories critical of government policies.

The chairman of Youth for Freedom and Democracy Black Moses has been missing for some days after plain clothes policemen visited the college last week.

Its against this background that MHRC might have become more interested to investigate Chasowa's death.