Court frees Kalindo hours after arrest
The Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday ordered the immediate release of activist Bon Kalindo hours after police arrested him as he set out to lead a protest march to Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
Chief resident magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza said the warrant of arrest for Kalindo, issued on Monday, has been suspended.
The order also directs that the parties should attend an inter-partes hearing on the matter on September 8 2023.
In an interview yesterday, National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya said Kalindo was arrested following a warrant issued by the court on Monday this week on claims that he jumped bail in a case he is accused of tampering with an Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi meter.
He said the court issued the warrant on grounds that, among others, Kalindo stopped reporting to the regional police headquarters as per his bail conditions.
Kalindo’s lawyer Stain Chirwa indicated that police had moved his client from Lilongwe to Nkhunga Police Unit in Dwangwa, Nkhotakota through Salima.
He said: “We have served the court order on the Inspector General of Police and other relevant parties, but it transpired that after his arrest, he was transferred to Salima and thereafter Dwangwa.
“My client is being illegally detained and we will proceed with contempt of court proceedings against the relevant parties.”
Yesterday afternoon, there were running battles between some of the demonstrators and police around Area 14 in Lilongwe. Police fired teargas to disperse the crowds.
