LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) is being accused of sitting on mysterious deaths of foreigners probe.
This comes barely a year after the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) penned the commission on November 10, 2022, on an urgent call for a public hearing on the mysterious deaths of Malawians of foreign origin.
CDEDI however expected a response from MHRC Executive Secretary Habiba Osman who acknowledged the recipient of the request.
Reads part of CDEDI letter to MHRC in 2022; “To say the least, the way the MPS is handling the matter leaves a lot to be desired and to put it bluntly, they have crossed the line and are shamelessly shielding suspects connected to the death.
Thus far, the MPS have re-arrested Raffik Munyamagaju in connection to Emmilie’s death, only when it is clear that going by the above report, the heinous incidences and events could not be carried out by a single person. It is shocking to note that the police have all the leads to the master-minders of the whole thing but they are using every trick in the book to avoid effecting arrests. This is a deliberate ploy to let the matter die a natural death or a futile attempt to frustrate the bereaved family to give up on letting justice be served. Hence our resolve to write your good office to step in and call for a public inquiry over the matter.
It is also important to put it on record that it is not the first case the MPS has handled which has raised eyebrows, especially cases of victims connected to countries such as Rwanda and Burundi.
On December 12, 2015, 32-year-old Jean Claude Gasana another Lilongwe-based business person from Rwanda was killed at Discorium Entertainment Joint but till now nobody has been taken to task yet.
On July 10, 2017, unidentified gunmen shot dead another businessperson at the Puma filling station in Salima before attempting the life of another Malawian of Rwandan origin businessperson Vincent Nylongera who survived the attack albeit wounded.
Another Malawian of Rwandan origin Romeo Mukisa 30, who until his death was plying his trade in Area 25, on November 11, 2018, died in a mysterious accident at Wullian Shop close to Bwaila Hospital after the car he was travelling in allegedly plunged into a very shallow drainage on his way home from Rwandan Diaspora meeting that was held around Malangalanga in Lilongwe.
Madam, you may wish to note that these are just a few cases out of the many cases that go neither unnoticed nor unreported like was the case at hand where the suspect, who was the driver for the deceased, did not report the matter to any police station despite the alleged death.
Strangely, we do not have anyone serving a jail term in connection to such cases involving the same compatriots. If this is not a glaring coincidence, then your office should find a better word to describe the same. We at CDEDI would like to believe that the MPS owes Malawians an explanation as to why they find it difficult to investigate and arrest the suspects, given the glaring trail of evidence in such cases.
Our independent investigations trace back to the ethical rivalry between the two major tribes of Rwanda: the Hutu and the Tutsi. It is against this background that we would like to believe that Malawi is currently sitting on a ticking bomb hence your office should call for a public hearing that will generate vital information to quell the situation and ensure that justice is served for all, starting with the case at hand and the many others where lives were needlessly lost.
Addressing the news conference, on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, in the capital Lilongwe CDEDI wants proper investigation over the matter.
The grouping has also requested Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda to halt composition payout to relatives of the alleged police shooting of two suspects at Thuma Forest in Salima pending investigations.
“CDEDI would like to draw your attention to a shooting incident of two suspects who were allegedly shot by the police namely; Mr. Samuel Samson aged 37, who hailed from Katunga Village, in Traditional Authority (T/A) Chiwere’s area in Dowa district, and Mr. Mussa Assabi, 36 from Chimasuka village, in T/A Kaphuka’s area in Dedza district.
“According to information that is in our custody, the two met their fate on October 4, 2018, as they were allegedly fleeing from the hands of police officers. Kindly refer to the attached death report issued by Dr. Jollings Kasondo of Salima District Hospital, the National Registration Bureau Death Certificate, the Salima Police Station death report, and the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) letter acknowledging receipt of a complaint on the same,” reads CDEDI letter signed by Sylvester Namiwa to AG Nyirenda.
Namiwa adds, “Furthermore, information CDEDI has gathered indicates that days after this shooting incident, a naturalized Malawian of Rwandan origin, Joseph Sekanabo, who is doing business at Kamuzu Road in Salima, was arrested and subsequently released on police bail by the Lingadzi Police in Lilongwe, in connection with the same incident.
“It all started on July 11, 2017, when a Puma fuel attendant was shot dead while a guard was injured in two separate incidences. The same night, a Rwandan business person Mr. Vincent Nyionegera was shot very close to his house in Salima. Preliminary Salima Police investigations revealed that two different guns were used”.
“It is worth pointing out that CDEDI does not have problems with the government, through your office, paying compensation to the two families that lost their loved ones. However, we hold a strong view that the above twists and turns are too glaring coincidences to be ignored, Malawian taxpayers have a right to know what happened before the funds were disbursed.
“It is for this reason that we are demanding your office to halt the compensation process until forensic investigations and prosecution of all those involved are conducted”.
This comes also amid a spate of killings due to security lapses in the country.
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