LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Leader of the House in Malawi Parliament, Kondwani Namkhumwa on Monday intimidated the Speaker of parliament Catherine Gotani Hara through a letter asking her to change her leadership style in the August House.
This follow the house unable to confirm Acting Malawi Inspector General of Police Duncan Mwapasa as new police chief.
Mwapasa confirmation is likely to hit the snug amid numerous police force misconduct immediately he took over the post from Rodney Jose three months ago.
In the letter which Maravi Post has seen,Namkhumwa has openly bemoaned the manner in which the speaker managed business in the house in the week just ending.
“Your decision on Friday, 4th October, 2019, to disallow my motion for extension of time to allow members debate the issue of confirmation of Mr. Duncan Mwapasa as Inspector General of Police was wrongly conceived. Even after more members, notably on the government side, voted in favour of the extension of time than those that were against it, you went ahead to overrule the majority decision.” reads the letter in part.
Namkhumwa has also reminded the Speaker to be above board when executing her duties in coordinating and presiding over the deliberations in the House; without naturally drifting towards a political party the Speaker belongs to.
The letter has also cried foul of the way in which the Speaker managed the conduct of two members of parliament who belong to different political parties; whereby one of them, Sameer Sueman of DPP was ordered to leave the House whilst deliberations were underway and yet Honourable Richard Chimwendo Banda of MCP, the party where the Speaker also belongs, was not subjected to the same disciplinary measure; despite committing a similar offence the previous day.
Catherine Gotani Hara is the first female speaker of the parliment in the history of Malawi. She has so far served as the Speaker for about five months since June this year.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has threatened to shut down Parliament next week if legislators confirm Mwapasa as Inspector General (IG) of Malawi Police Service.
HRDC has issued the warning through a statement which its chairperson Timothy Mtambo and his deputy Gift Trapence released Sunday.
HRDC, among other reasons, the acting IG of allegedly ordering the police ‘to fire live bullets’ on protesters ‘in support of the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party]-led government’.
“His confirmation as Inspector General of the Malawi Police Service will bring the current police farther from the people who have lost trust in it,” the statement reads.
The statement further alleges that Mwapasa has failed to stop abductions and killing of people with albinism; hence, he is unfit to be promoted as IG.
Other reasons listed in the statement include that he was mentioned in the Inquiry Report of the murder of The Malawi Polytechnic student, Robert Chasowa, a scenario which HRDC says “raises suspicion on his possible role in Chasowa murder.”
