What started as peaceful demonstrations to push for the resignation of Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Annabel Mtalimanja and call for an independent audit of the election management system turned violent in Mzuzu yesterday.
In the course of the mayhem, police arrested at least 17 protesters who are expected to be charged with demanding money from motorists,
malicious damage and conduct likely to cause breach of peace, according to police.
Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers joined Malawi Police Service officers in quelling the situation by following some of the errant protesters into residential areas where they had fled to safety. Police also fired tear gas.
That the march would turn ugly was clear from the starting point at Katoto ground as some protesters were seen targeting flags of the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and billboards bearing the portrait of President Lazarus Chakwera.
They threw stones at one billboard with Chakwera’s portrait near Shoprite. Next, at the Shoprite Roundabout, the protesters pulled down MCP flags, before tearing down another of Chakwera’s billboards along the dual-carr iage Orton Chirwa Highway.
Remnant s f rom the vandalised billboards, which were proclaiming messages from National Economic Empowerment Fund (Neef) and Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education Training Authority, were later burnt at the Clocktower Roundabout.
After presenting the petition, some protesters dispersed into various areas around Katoto where they stoned stationary vehicles.
Some of the protesters went to the extent of deflating a tyre of the Police Mobile Van, burnt tyres and blocked the road with stones around St John of God near Vigwawa Market along the M1 while others threw stones at Sanna shop near Reserve Bank of Malawi.
Presenting the petition, one of the leaders, Gomezgani Nkhoma claimed that Smartmatic, the company that supplied MEC with the election management devices (EMDS) lacked credibility.
He alleged that the company was linked to allegations of fraud, bribery and money laundering from its involvement in elections in various countries such as Venezuela, Kenya and the Philippines.
Said Nkhoma: “There are allegations that Smartmatic’s machines are prone to manipulation. Research indicates that in other countries where these machines have been deployed, they have experienced significant operational failures, including hardware malfunctions and software glitches.”
He said the allegations strengthen the call for an urgent need for independent audit of the election management system, improved documentation and greater transparency.
“We demand an independent audit of the system to ascertain its susceptibility to manipulation due to its reliance on software, and to check its vulnerability in result transmission protocols. If our demands are not met
by June 6, 2025, we will commence nationwide demonstrations,” said Nkhoma.
Mzimba North District office administrator Agnes Ghambi, who received the petition, said it will be presented to relevant authorities.
By 3:40pm, Northern Region Police Headquarters spokesperson Maurice Chapola said they had arrested 17 people in connection with the violent acts that followed the protests.
He said: “We regard them as thugs because what they were doing, like stoning shops, happened after a petition had been delivered. More arrests are expected.
“Protests are a constitutional right, but that does not guarantee that one should destroy property or indeed violate any other laws. We will not allow such lawnessnes.”
On calls for the audit, MEC chief elections officer Andrew Mpesi told the Public Affairs Committee Sixth All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference in Blantyre last week that opposition parties had jointly submitted the scope of audit pertaining to the elections management system.
In an interview yesterday, MEC director of public relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa identified the parties as Democratic Progressive Party, Alliance for Democracy, UTM Party, People’s Party and United Democratic Front.
“We got a communication from the political parties. The commission will look at it and advise,” he said.
MEC said 6 500 EMDs and related software were procured from Smartmatic of the Netherlands following a transparent, Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA)-approved restricted tendering process.
Ma lawi goes to the pol l s on September 16 2025 to elect a President, 229 members of Parliament and 500 ward councillors
