By Iommie Chiwalo
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s civil rights group, 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.
Touching on the welfare of teachers, Namiwa says CDEDI’s position on the current standoff between government and the teachers in public schools is simple and straight forward in the sense that Teaching was classified by the
Presidential Task force on the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020, as a profession
that is at risk.
“It is surprising, therefore, to note that government has put its foot down, and has sworn never to give the teachers the risk allowances, and yet the same government is currently busy splashing out money to some individuals, in the name of Covid-19 cushion measures,” he said.
He said CDEDI has learnt with shock, the news that the Malawi government is giving out MK70, 000 each to some individuals in the country’s cities and towns, as a cash transfer mechanism to vulnerable households.
“The criteria of selecting such vulnerable
households, however, has not been made public. CDEDI has been made to believe that such underhand tendencies of splashing out cash is an indication that government has enough money in its coffers for
the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, hence our demand to end the current standoff between the teachers and government by giving the teachers the risk allowances,” he said.
Namiwa further challenged President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to come out publicly and inform Malawians on the criteria the government is using to identify the beneficiaries in the current social cash transfer, a cushion measure for the Covid-19 pandemic, and declare publicly where the funds have been sourced from.
“Should the current standoff between the teachers and the government remain
unresolved by Wednesday, March 10, 2021, CDEDI will be forced to lead
Malawians of goodwill, whose children’s basic right to education is being violated, and all Malawians that are sympathizing with our children who go to
public schools, to come out in their large numbers and join a nationwide solidarity march to add voices to the teachers’ demands for risk allowances so that our children should go back to school,”
