Development, Law and order

Malawi’s Msundwe, Mpingu Mbwatalika women get justice at last

Richard Kayenda
Msundwe, Mpingu and Mbwatalika women get justice

MZUZU-(MaraviPost)-The High Court in Lilongwe on Thursday, August 13, 2020 passed its verdict on the case in which Women Lawyers Association of Malawi took against the Office of Inspector General (IG) of the Malawi Police Service (MPS), Ministry of Finance and Parliament.

In the case, MPS was sued for some of its officers who sexually harassed women and girls in Msundwe, Mpingu and Mbwatalika on October 9 last year.

In his verdict, Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda determined that the victims were really harassed and molested sexually by the police officers and that the Inspector General flopped in the management of his officers who were deployed to the scene on the material day; hence ought to compensate the victims in under 21 days.

Nyirenda further ordered the Police to finalise its conclusion on the investigation into the matter and present the findings to court in under 30 days, submit the occurrences book to court within 14 days and pay the costs in the case.

While expressing her satisfaction with the judgement, President of the Women Lawyers Association, Tadala Chinkwezule, said she was overjoyed that finally justice prevailed over the plight of women and girls of Msundwe.

“We finally see that justice is actually being done for them through a court judgment that has been issued today. It is quite a great thing and also we know that the effect showcased will not only be in Malawi, but Africa and even the whole world because what this case entails is that there will be justice against any kind of injustice,” Chinkwezule stressed.

In her reaction, the Chairperson of NGO Gender Coordination Network, Barbra Banda, said this was victory for all the women in Malawi.

Banda said: “This is a great day for women in Malawi. This is a great day for the justice system which is showing us that we can have confidence when we take our issues through the legal system. So, we also want to use this as a clear warning to that are perpetrators of gender based violence.”

On October 8 last year, some disgruntled people at Msundwe engaged in a physical chase with the Police as the former blocked other people who were ferried from Mchinji to attend a public rally organised by former President Peter Mutharika in Lilongwe. In the process, one police officer, Superintendent Usuman Imedi, was killed by the angry mob.