Malawi Police have arrested Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) vice chairperson Gift Trapence and member Macdonald Sembereka.
Meanwhile, reports show that the police are also looking for HRDC chairperson Timothy Mtambo. Timothy Mtambo is said to be hiding after claiming he fears no one.
Timothy Mtambo declaring on Facebook that he is not scared.
Mtambo posted his comment on Facebook just after President Peter Mutharika warned Mtambo and his allies against abuse of law.
HRDC member Luke Tembo confirmed the arrest of the duo on Sunday. He added that the two were being taken to Blantyre, but the police were yet to charge them.
Last week, the group announced plans to shut down State House on March 25 in order to force Mutharika to sign the electoral reforms bills which were passed in Parliament last month.
But Mutharika during the rally which was held at Njamba Park ordered Malawi Police and Malawi Defence Force to use necessary force against the protesters.
Trapence and Sembereka were also arrested last year for K7.2 million fraud and operating an unregistered organization.
HRDC rejected the advice of Malawi law society and trapped itself into treason on statehouse shutdown.
HRDC has always been allowed to demonstrate but they took a wrong turn on statehouse shutdown plan. Now they got into the place where government wanted them to be-a self-trap.
On 20th February 2020 Malawi Law Society released a statement signed by which among other things condemned HRDC for MEC offices shutdown and advised HRDC to always get proper legal counsel before planning any of its public actions. That advise was disregarded by Mtambo and his crew and they planned statehouse shutdown or occupy statehouse vigil. If MLS called MEC shutdown a step too far…. this statehouse shutdown is now way too far and treason. These are not demonstrations, but a planned government take over for the following reasons.
Shutting Down of Statehouse Is an Arrest of a President.
-Arresting a president is treason under Malawi law. HRDC should have known better. At least their lawyers should have advised them against that affront.
OCCUPYING STATEHOUSE MEANS coup d’état
The statehouse is occupied by the president anyone who does stay there does it by invitation or visit by permission. For HRDC to say we will occupy statehouse that was treasonous statements and a coup d’état plan.
The Government over the past nine months has let HRDC do their demonstrations and the president has been lenient and so democratic to allow the demonstrations to continue though they were terrorizing innocent people’s lives. Malawi law Society condemned HRDC on MEC shutdown. For HRDC to plan to occupy State House is outright treason.
