By Iommie Chiwalo
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has expressed shock over police brutality and cautions on mass action in expressing dissatisfaction over the current state of affairs.
In a statement released March 6, 2021 CDEDI says it has noted with total dismay, the abandonment by the Malawi Police Service (MPS) of their core responsibility of protecting the lives and property of Malawians, in
preference of administering mob justice on defenseless people in the name of enforcing the Covid-19 preventive measures.
A statement signed by CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa says it is displeasing to note that since the introduction of the partial lockdown in Malawi, the country has witnessed escalating cases of gruesome murders, armed robberies and burglary across the country’s cities and towns.
“Ironically, the police have focused all their energy and manpower on the enforcement of the Covid-19 preventive measures, leaving a lot of lives at the mercy of these merciless murderers, who are going around door to door, terrorizing innocent Malawians,” Namiwa says in a statement cautioning that gone are the days when the police would mount roadblocks and spot checks on some selected roads in search of various items, specifically weapons, stolen goods, illegal immigrants, etc.
“Nowadays, it is a common site to find the police stopping cars in search of people that are not wearing face masks so that they can either whip them or threaten them with fines,” he said.
Following the current conduct of the police, Namiwa says, CDEDI would like to challenge the Inspector General (IG) of the MPS, to rise up to the occasion and stop these barbaric acts by the police officers, before the situation gets out of hand and throws Malawi into a lawless state due to the worsening relationship between the law enforcers and the citizens.
“Secondly, CDEDI is cautioning the police not to be too excited with the
enforcement of the Covid-19 measures, at the expense of respecting people’s
human rights, but rather they should always respect the country’s
Constitution by taking the suspects to court where the appropriate punitive
measures are given. The MPS should always be mindful of their constitutional mandate; that of ensuring internal security, law and order within the tenets of a reformed police service, and not as a police force,” he said.
In pursuit of justice, CDEDI is further demanding that all the police officers that were reported to have broken into shops and bars in the city of Lilongwe on the pretext of enforcing Covid-19 measures should be brought to book, including all the officers that were shamelessly caught on
camera administering mob justice on some unarmed citizens.
