BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Malawi Government, under the leadership of Reverend Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, has started implementing the new gazette legislation on Covid-19 preventive measures despite the outcry from the general public on the same.
So far, over 500 people have been arrested across the country for not putting on face masks which is now mandatory following the gazetting of the Coronavirus legislation.
According to the legislation, failure by any person to wear a face mask in public is an offence that attracts a K10 000 fine upon conviction.
National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera has confirmed that people have been arrested for not wearing face masks but could not the divulge the number of the culprits.
But reports reaching MaraviPost indicate that police in Chikwawa arrested over 100 unmasked people over the weekend and only 25 managed to pay the K10 000 fine.
In Lilongwe it is reported that Police also arrested some people who were released upon paying the K10 000 fine.
The Public Health (Corona Virus and COVID-19) (Prevention, Containment and Management) Rules 2020 that came into force on 8th August, 2020, has attracted much criticisms from the general public including the religious bodies.
George Jobe, executive director of the Malawi Health Equity Network, said the rules have failed to address whether the government will provide free masks to people who cannot afford to buy them.
According to U.N. data, about 70% of Malawi’s population lives below the international poverty line of $1.90 per day.
John Phuka, chairperson of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, is on record to have said that the government already had signed a memorandum of understanding with local mask manufacturers to start distributing free masks to those who cannot afford them but none has accessed them.
Religious bodies have expressed their disappointment and are failing to grasp the spirit of the current law on public gatherings and its implications for churches and mosques.
The law bans a gathering of more than 10 people, an indirect closure of churches and mosques.
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) is scheduled to move the courts for contempt of court against government following the recently gazetted COVID-19 preventive measures.
According to CDED Executive Director, Sylvester Namiwa, the gazetted subsidiary legislation is in a fact a lockdown, which the court stopped its implementation until judicial review is undertaken.
Chancellor College based Professor of Law, Garton Kamchedzera, describe the new legislation as ‘Dog’s law’.
Dog’s law proceeds with immediate commands, negating that the law’s key role is to guide behaviour, according to Kamchedzera.
“Governments and drafters of law must realise that the law needs effectiveness and authority to be real law. To be effective and have authority, the law depends on its correctness, relevance, and reasonableness in content and manner. When drafters and governments attain excellence in making law, they serve popular sovereignty well.
“However, when the content of the law is based on inadequate science or questionable truth, the law’s effectiveness and authority suffer. When people have many questions for clarifications and when they can note ambiguities, absurdities, and other flaws in the thinking, coverage, and reasonableness of the law, you know that the drafters did not know that the law has to maintain its authority to guide effectively,” argued Kamchedzera.
True to Kamchedzera’s words, the new legislation is full of ambiguities on prayers.
For instance, with regard to funerals the current law on public gatherings permit churches to conduct prayers at funerals for 50 people yet the same law is prohibiting the same churches or mosques to conduct regular prayers for the same 50 people at their normal worship centres just once a week.
Ironically, the current president of the Republic of Malawi is a man of God who for over 20 years served the Assemblies of God as its President.
Attorney General Dr. Chikosa Silungwe, whose religious affiliation is not clear following his refusal to hold a holy book during an inauguration ceremony, said Public Health (Corona Virus and Covid-19) Prevention, Containment and Management Rules, 2020, gazetted on Friday came to force on Saturday 8th August, 2020.
Silungwe made the announcement Sunday at a press conference held at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe.
“What the rules have done is to convey the measures for the country to combat Covid-19. The rules contain general preventive measures to contain the escalation of Covid-19 like wearing face masks, provide for social distance of at least one metre from each other, washing hands with soap,” said Silungwe.
