Malawi Leader of Opposition, Dr. George Thapatula Chaponda, has condemned the Malawi Police Service for being silent and inactive amid increasing cases of insecurity even during broad daylight.
In a statement issued on Friday, Chaponda wondered how can ordinary people could feel safe in their homes or communities when the law enforcement agents are failing to stop violence and arrest the perpetrators.
“We expresses deep concern and strong condemnation over the continued acts of political attacked by thugs wielding pangas, in full view of the Malawi Police Service and soldiers from the Malawi Defence Force. This marks nearly the fifth time that organized violence has been aligned with the ruling Malawi Congress Party. Worse still, the Malawi Police Service has remained completely silent on this violence. No public statement has been issued. No arrests have been made.The thugs widely believed to be aligned with the ruling Malawi Congress Party, continue to terrorize Malawians with apparent
immunity,” lamented Chaponda in the statement.
He charged that the silence from the security agencies is not just negligence, but also a complicity, with potential to promote lawlessness.
Chaponda said he was therefore not surprised that Malawi, as a nation, is plunging deeper into a state of insecurity.
The Office of the Leader of Opposition has since demanded an immediate public explanation from the Inspector General of Police regarding the
failure to stop the violence and arrest the perpetrators and assaulting activists.
He also demanded urgent arrest and prosecution of all those involved in disrupting the demonstrations and assurance from government that the right to peaceful protest will be respected and protected going forward.
“Democracy cannot thrive under intimidation. If the police choose to watch while citizens are
brutalized, they will be remembered not as enforcers of law and order, but as silent enablers of tyranny,” concluded his statement Chaponda.