Written by Patseni Mauka
The news that a police officer shot one of the MCP supporters with a teargas canister when the supporters were demonstrating at Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) offices where campaign materials for the party are being held is extremely sad. Police officers are trained to use their equipment to bring order not to harm people. The officer should have done his job professionally.
However, the demonstrations were illegal and unnecessary. Therefore, MCP leadership should share the blame for organizing the demonstrations that led to the unnecessary life-threatening injuries on one of their own supporters. MCP leaders who organized these demonstrations should hang their heads in shame.
When goods are held at MRA, all you must do is clear them by paying the necessary taxes and not conduct demonstrations. Even though there are some bad apples at MRA who use their greed for money and political colors to slow down clearing of goods for fellow Malawians, MCP should have exhausted all available channels.
MCP could have used our independent courts to intervene. The belief that all problems with the state should be solved with demonstrations is wrong. It shows MCP leadership is not matured and knowledgeable enough to realize that Malawi has a functioning court system which is independent. Problems like tax disputes can be easily handled by the courts.
This country has laws which should always be followed. A party that is campaigning on the promise for change should not be taking matters into its own hands. It should be leading by example and show the maturity that Malawi desperately needs.
It’s obvious that such a demonstration could not have happened without the approval of MCP President, Lazarus Chakwera. Chakwera is a directionless leader who just nods to anything his close advisers say. He does not know the appropriate things to do at a time.
It is not the first time his leadership has put MCP in an awkward, embarrassing and shameful position. In the famous 4 billion Kwacha constituency funding scandal, the government and opposition decided to share money which the Minister of Finance was caught trying to distribute to constituencies for Members of Parliament who voted against a bill on implementing the much-needed electoral reforms.
At that time, Chakwera was the leader on the opposition side. He helped pass the bill and then went into the streets to demonstrate against the same bill that he voted for! Pure mickey mouse leadership that Malawi does not need.
MCP should stop putting people’s lives in danger for things that can be handled without physical display of anger. Party supporters should also not allow themselves to be used for matters that can easily be settled without volatile demonstrations. Don’t get carried away with politics.
Party supporters refuse to be used by clueless leaders like Chakwera who will never bring back your life if you die at the hands of police. If you are going to die demonstrating, it should be on a burning issue which future generations will remember you for, not demonstrating for a release of a container of t-shirts.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of the Publisher or the Editor of Maravi Post
Comments
2 responses to “Malawi Police and MCP should share the blame on injured party supporter”
Just to correct, every demonstration is legal and if the one doing it thinks it is necessary in his opinion then it is necessary, the govt through police will never declare a demonstration as necessary, the Constitution gives every citizens freeomof association and freedom of expression, as ong as it is a peaceful demonstration, there’s no legal requirement to seek permission from anyone at all as this is a natural born right. If the demonstrators were armed with petrol bombs or pangas or rifles then it is not a peaceful demonstrations or if they were on rampage destroying then it is still legal to demonstrate in whatever circumstances however the unlawful part will come from individual demonstrators who will have to face the law as individuals, due to the criminality of their acts otherwise regardless even of sorrounded by demonstrators carrying weapon the act of demonstration have and will never be illegal the law does not make the act of demonstration illegal, there’s a whole basket of things which are illegal in this country, and some demonstrators and some non demonstrators commit those unlawful acts and they have to face the law however a ruling party shall use such cirmstances to portray that the demonstration WS illegal, the DC or the police have no duty or right to give us our right to association and expression they only have a duty to make sure that the right is always there, I’m sorry but I think Peter mutharika will not be with us in five years time and also that he has had a time and chance to do whatever he wanted or he is promorising to due, my bread isn’t not buttered by DPP or whoever as I am a self employed Malawian living other otherseas therefore I have no favour I will still have a job an income and I am not paid to write stupid stories trying to credit an someone in their 8Os to pass an interview and be selected for a job when the retiring age is well known to be 5O for a fucken reason. Recycled greedy idiots are in all parties and in all possible cabinet we know them we know who will leave the MCP once it looses and move to the ruling party , we know how DPP would end up empty as pp or UDF if it loses we all know who will leave chilima and move to the ruling if it happens that way, there’s so many non royal or disloyal idiots out there, if the govtment and when the govtment say the church or the opposition should not be doing a,b,c is means its right to do that as it hurts the ruling party otherwise the ruling party can not be offering genuine credible advise to the opposition.
Vote for Chakwera and MCP. Chilima is a product of corruption and DPP.