APM may lose ‘legitimacy to govern’—CHRR, Cedep
Malawi President Peter Mutharika should wake up “from his slumber and resolve the crisis once and for all lest he lose the legitimacy to govern”, two leading civil society organisations (CSOs) have warned.
The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and the Centre for Development of People (Cedep) issued the statement yesterday in reaction to emerging issues in the country.
The statement was signed by CHRR executive director Timothy Mtambo and Cedep’s Gift Trapence.
They highlight recent “military behaviour” of the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the President’s continued silence on the strikes and yesterday’s sealing of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) offices in the country as some of the issues.
On the strikes at ACB, the Judiciary, College of Medicine, Chancellor College and Mzuzu University, among others, CHRR and Cedep expressed sadness that the President is yet to step up to address the aggrieved parties on the feud.
“This may also signal a ‘constructive admission’ by the President that he has failed to ‘govern or rule’ in the midst of the crisis, a scenario that does not speak well about his leadership style,” reads the statement.
In the same vein, CHRR and Cedep have also taken a swipe at recent sealing of ACB offices by APM’s regime as another disaster, calling it the ‘worst expected of his administration’.
They note that there are fears that the sealing exercise shall be extended to the Judiciary and any potential grouping who may resort to strikes as a way of bringing their grievances to the attention of the regime.
While expressing their fear of DPP ‘militant behaviour’ as evidenced by media reports of politically-induced violence in Mzuzu, Limbe and Chitipa, CHRR and Cedep have called upon the President to prioritise ending these strikes as a matter of urgency.
“Mutharika’s continued silence on these matters is not helping matters at all, but rather aggravating the already tense situation,” reads the statement.
Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture Kondwani Nankhumwa, who is also government spokesperson, could not pick his phone yesterday after several attempts to get his response.
Presidential press secretary Frederick Ndala refused to comment on the matter, saying the issue is political and should, therefore, be handled by Nankhumwa.
