‘Karonga Central jungle of savages’

It cannot get any worse. Barely months after Paramount Chief Kyungu said Karonga Central Constituency was no battlefield like Libya’s Benghazi, independent parliamentary candidate Frank Mwenefumbo says ‘it has actually become a jungle of savages’ who can do anything to get power.

Expelled People’s Party (PP) secretary general Mwenefumbo convened a press briefing at his Makoma Lodge in Karonga on Friday and paraded five women who claim to have been beaten up and waylaid amid a protracted conflict with the ruling party’s preferred candidate, Deputy Minister of Finance Cornelius Mwalwanda, which has blighted the constituency’s countdown to May 20 tripartite polls.

The face-off, dating back to the 2009 parliamentary polls, reared its ugly head again with Mwenefumbo, who was expelled from PP for standing as an independent after losing primary elections in December, accusing Mwalwanda of beating and roughing him up on April 14 when President Joyce Banda visited the area.

Mwalwanda denies the allegation, calling it “utter nonsense”.

But Mwenefumbo said he was disappointed that the police was dragging its system, calling on the law enforcers and non-governmental organisations to carry out thorough and impartial investigations into the matter.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. The longer it takes to prosecute the perpetrators of last month’s violence, the more I feel justice is being denied. Although I conducted myself with restraint, Mwalwanda continues to attack my supporters with impunity. This is why I want the press and human rights organisations to come and investigate the conflict independently,” said Mwenefumbo at the press conference attended by United Democratic Front parliamentary candidate Winston Mkwala and his Malawi Congress Party counterpart Goven Mwalughali.

In an interview, Mwalwanda said: “This is nonsense. Look at me. Do I look like a violent man? When I came home a few years back, it was purely to help develop my country and serve my people. I didn’t know we would be engaging in such primitive politics.”

Amid the blame game, Karonga police in-charge Foster Mangani said in an interview they arrested four suspects