Human Rights defenders in the country have asked the Inspector General of Police Dr. George Kainja to arrest Minister of Civic Education and National Unity Mr. Timothy Mtambo.
This follows the recent arrest of human rights activist Bon ‘Winiko’ Kalindo, who is being accused of causing malicious damage during anti-president Lazarus Chakwera’s demonstrations in Lilongwe a couple of days ago.
A joint statement issued by Social Revolution Movement, Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI), Mzuzu Youth Caucus, Human Rights Ambassadors and Forum for Democracy has asked police to arrest Mtambo on the similar offense of malicious damage .
The statement claimed that Timothy Mtambo committed the offense during Peter Mutharika’s regime when he was leading anti-Jane Ansah demonstrations under the banner Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC).
During the demonstrations, some angry demonstrators and members of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) destroyed both public and private properties worth billions of Kwacha in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.
National Police Spokesperson James Kadadzera has told local media that his office is yet to receive the letter from the human rights defenders.
Recently, Mtambo told parliament that demonstrations which he led before he became minister were never violent.
This criminal should have been incarcerated by now. He caused a lot of mayhem, distress and inhumanity to Malawians. The property he damaged was in billions of kwachas. Surprisingly, Chakwera found it upon himself to award his criminality by giving him a ministerial post. Funny enough, Kalindo goes out there to fight for the liberty and peace of all Malawians across the land feeling the hardship as crafted by Tonse Alliance, he gets condemned to the cooler. Mtambo did it for a party but Kalindo is doing it for everybody, MCP poverty-stricken members inclusive, but someone whose safety is compromised because he has chosen to make a fugitive of himself, chooses to muzzle Kalindo’s freedom of expression and association, really? Somebody is shooting himself in the foot by extension. We are here to see how this will unfold.