BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—After holding a fierce strike that resulted in running battles with Malawi Police, junior prison officers can now afford a smile as government has bowed down to their demands, Maravi Post has established.

Prison warders started a nationwide sit-in yesterday to press for promotions, general welfare and their inclusion in the National Response to Coronavirus. 

The officers expressed their disappointment on how government treats MPS, especially through Ministry of Homeland Security.

“We would like to understand why we are treated differently from our fellow national security agencies like the Immigration and the Malawi Police Service.

“I mean, just look at how the ministry has allocated some funds for the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. While the two arms were allocated fat cheques, we did not get any. This is never about the money, but our safety; our welfare. It is like we work in a different country from our colleagues and it is not fair,” said one of the officers.

The junior officers even snubbed Malawi Prison Service (MPS) chief commissioner Grace Wandika Phiri’s attempts to address them.

According to our sources, Phiri attempted to address junior officers at the maximum security Zomba Central Prison following a letter her office issued summoning representatives of the staff to a meeting, but they chased her. She later drove to Lilongwe where she was again snubbed.

In Lilongwe, warders threw stones at senior officers who sat few metres away from the main entrance.

In the Northern Region, junior officers from Mzuzu, Rumphi, Nkhata Bay and Mzimba prisons joined the strike, demanding promotions government promised them last April following promotions in the Malawi Police Service.

But on Friday evening, Prisons spokesperson Chimwemwe Shaba confirmed that government has promoted all the junior officers to different ranks.

“Government has with immediate effect promoted all prison wardens to the rank of Sergeant, all sergeants to the rank of Geoler(Sub Inspector) and all Geolers(Sub Inspectors) to the rank of Inspector of Prisons,” Shaba wrote on Malawi Prison Services official facebook page.