Defence lawyers have pleaded with the Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court to put on check the police over their repeated arrests of 11 suspects accused perpetrating of political violence in the immediate-past regime.
Filing an application for the suspects’ bail yesterday, defence lawyer Moses Nkhono said that the State wanted the suspects to keep paying cash bail bonds each time they are granted court bail after being re-arrested.
He said it was clear that the State intends to re-arrest the suspects once senior resident magistrate Wanangwa Nyirenda granted them bail.
Said Nkhono: “The sums involved in bail bonds are huge and it will become a challenge for the suspects to keep paying each time they are arrested and they apply for bail.
“We never know how many other cases they want to open against the suspects. They may go up to 30. Where do they get the money to pay on every case the State brings?”
He said bail gives suspects the right to liberty, but re-arresting them denies them that right.
Nkhono asked the court to order the State to stop abusing the power to arrest and that where necessary the suspects should only be summoned while on bail.
But in his response, prosecutor Moja Phiri faulted the defence’s prayer, observing that Nkhono was asking for bail variation when the court had not granted bail.
The State insisted that the suspects should not be granted bail because doing so will interfere with witnesses and that there is a likelihood of them evading trial.
Nyirenda reserved his ruling on bail to today, saying both parties made long submissions; hence, he needed more time to come up with a ruling.
On Tuesday, the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court granted the 11 suspects bail after they pleaded not guilty to five charges related to a May 2025 incident of violence at Mponela Trading Centre in Dowa. However, they were re-arrested soon after their release.
Earlier last Thursday, the Principal Resident Magistrate’s Court also granted bail to nine of the suspects in another case, but the nine were re-arrested on Friday last week after the court finished processing sureties.
The suspects are accused of political violence that took place at Mbowe Service Station in Lilongwe in 2024 where a gang armed with pangas and other weapons attacked the then opposition Democratic Progressive Party members and destroyed vehicles when they gathered at the spot to hold a blue parade.
