Malawi Police Service (MPS) has ordered the immediate withdrawal and redeployment to general duties of officers currently serving as traffic aides or attached to the traffic branch.
The directive, contained in a wireless message from police headquarters dated August 27 2026, affects police formations nationwide.
The development comes barely hours after a video of a traffic police officer soliciting a K20 000 bribe from a minibus driver in Blantyre went viral on social media.
All regional commissioners of police, heads of branches, training institutions, stations, posts and units have been advised to ensure full implementation of the directive.
“You are reminded that no station commander or regional branch commander is authorised to attach any specialised personnel to the branch without prior approval from the Inspector General,” read the message signed by MPS deputy director of human resource management Lael Chitembo.
The directive warned that failure to comply will be considered misconduct, with appropriate administrative action taken against officers responsible for disobeying the order.
Both national police spokesperson Gladys Chiwaula and her deputy Alfred Chimthere did not respond to our messages and phone calls to explain comment on the matter.
According to police sources, traffic aides are officers deployed by Police Headquarters to bolster manpower in sections such as traffic and criminal investigations, while attachés are officers deployed by regional or station heads. They are officers without prior professional training or orientation.
Commenting on the development, Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (Moam) secretary general Coxley Kamange applauded the police for “instilling discipline”.
He said: “We commend the police for their action because it shows they are not tolerating corruption. Going forward, we call on the Inspector General to ensure that the traffic officer caught on camera soliciting a bribe from a minibus driver is prosecuted because that has brought disrepute to the entire service.”
On his part, governance commentator Undule Mwakasungula said the directive, from an institutional management perspective, was appropriate.
He said the police have a clear command structure, with the police chief having statutory authority over the command, direction and deployment of police personnel.
“So, l feel this is in order. From a governance point of view, I think the directive strengthens accountability and proper deployment within the police.
“But the key concern is whether withdrawing traffic aides and attaches will affect traffic enforcement and public safety on the roads. We must wait and see the consequences of this directive if any,” said Mwakasungula.
