Written by Richard Kayenda
MZUZU-(MaraviPost)–Political commentators have called upon the Malawi Police Service (MPS) to stand up and guard against the political violence which have become order of the day in the run up to July 2 presidential election.
The commentators, Mustaffah Hussein and Sherif Kaisi, have said the current political turmoil may be deemed as a deliberate move by the government to frustrate the registration exercise by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and the eventual voting exercise on July 2 this year.
“It is expected that when such vandalism has occurred people should get arrested or government should say something about it or Mec should actually do something about it. In the absence of information, people can start speculating,” Hussein said.
While echoing similar sentiments, Kaisi said the government seems to have completely lost control over the current political situation.
Kaisi said: “It is very unfortunate as a country that we have neglected a very important exercise that is going to map the way forward for the country . You know elections are supposed to be safeguarded before security measures.”
However, the Police, through National Spokesperson, James Kadadzera, says the Police are doing everything possible to keep the situation in check, bearing in mind that they are also always preoccupied with general security of the nation amid the covid-19 pandemic.
“We protect everyone regardless of political affiliation. What is needed is that when they have seen something suspicious, they have to report that to police,” said Kadadzera.
The current registration exercise by Mec, in Dowa, Mulanje and Thyolo, has been fiddled with acts of violence. The first phase of the exercise was also brought to a sudden halt when unidentified culprits damaged Mec equipment in Blantyre.
Police have not yet arrested anyone in connection with the malpractice.