‘Justice delayed Isn’t justice at all’
The High Court in Lilongwe last week convicted Malawi Police Service (MPS) officer Stewart Lobo for murdering a civilian during the July 20 2011 protests. This is the first convict jailed in connection with the atrocities committed five years ago. JOHN CHIRWA caught up with Isaac Banda, spokesperson of some of the victims of the killings.
Q
:Recently, you received the K31.2 million compensation for losing relatives in the demonstrations. How is life after the compensation?
A
:First of all, we thank government through the Attorney General for the K31.2 million compensation which has helped families find food, school fees and shelter. So far, there are no complaints among the families on the money meant to compensate the victims for losing relatives in the July 20 2011 demonstrations. This means we have won the first leg in the fight for justice after losing our relatives. By compensating us, it means government has accepted its wrongdoing in the murder of about 20 civilians during the demonstrations. So, our lawyer is still handling the case to make sure that the perpetrators are brought to book. We have presented the case to the Attorney General and written the Malawi Police Service [MPS] for redress. We want justice to prevail because we have all the evidence. We are still keeping videos where police officers were caught on camera firing live bullets. And we are able to identify the officers on the firing line. We have these videos in our homes because we know that one day they will be needed to bring culprits to book.
Q
:Last week, a police officer was convicted for the killings committed five years ago. What is your take on that?
A
:We are not happy. Justice is lacking in this issue. Just imagine, it has taken five years for us to receive the
compensation. Is that justice? This simply shows that justice in Malawi is one-sided. It favours the rich and it sidelines the poor. This is painful. All of us are bonafide citizens of the country. If we are wronged, the perpetrators need to face justice. It is our plea that justice should not be selective. Justice delayed is justice denied, but selective justice is the worst form of injustice. For example, if it is government officials or the rich in the wrong, it takes long for justice to prevail. But if it is us the poor, it does not take a decade for us to be condemned to jail. Justice should not work like that. It needs to operate without looking at one’s status. Nobody is above the law.
Q:How do you feel that some of the police officers suspected of committing these atrocities were merely transferred to other stations?
A
:This is wrong. It is like postponing solutions. Police officers’ duty is to protect Malawians. That is why we pay them through our taxes. If they are wrong, they need to be accountable in their personal capacity as officers. By transferring them to another station simply means that the MPS is backing the officer. And, in the long run, this proves to be a problem. Wherever those police officers go, they will continue breaking the law. The best is to interdict the officers to pave way for investigations. Otherwise, it is the police fuelling lawlessness and injustice in the country. A police officer is not above the law, either.
Q
:How will you make sure that all the officers in your videos face justice?
A
:On our own we can’t manage to pursue these cases. That is why we have engaged a lawyer to represent us in court. We have won the first phase of the case. Government has accepted wrongdoing by giving us compensation. But who fired the bullets? That is the question the second phase of the case wants to answer. They need to release the perpetrators and let them face justice. It is not difficult to do this. There are records of the police officers who were deployed on that fateful day. The police also have records of the type of guns and ammunition given out to the officers. It is a matter of going back to records.
Q
:Anything more?
A
:Ours is a plea to government through the President and Ministry of Justice that justice should prevail in the July 20 issue. The police service should also make sure that its officers involved in the murders should be named and brought to the court of law. In addition, we ask the Mudzi Transformation Fund to release the remainder of the money donated by the then president Joyce Banda. They are yet to give us K1.5 million of the K17.5 million donation. This was a gift by the President to support the families. n
