The wave of political violence sweeping across the country, including last Wednesday’s brutal attack on unarmed civil servants protesting a pay hike in Lilongwe, has further strained the country’s reputation as a peaceful nation.
The civil servants were attacked by a group of young people armed with pangas, wooden clubs, hoe handles and other offensive weapons.
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Fol l owi ng the ug l y incidents, a high-level meeting involv ing development partners, electoral stakeholders and Malawi Defence Force (MDF) officials was held on Thursday at Kamuzu Barracks in Lilongwe to discuss MDF’s role in securing the upcoming elections. The meeting was held in camera.
Writing on the US Embassy Lilongwe Facebook page, US Chargé d’Affaires Amy Diaz said: “As they [MDF] support the police and MEC, they are coordinating closely with all stakeholders to ensure Malawi has peaceful and credible elections.”
President Lazarus Chakwera, through a statement issued by his press secretary Anthony Kasunda on Thursday, called on police to arrest the “thugs” who attacked the civil servants.
“His Excellency strongly believes that the right to demonstrate is a fundamental pillar of democracy, and any attempt to suppress it through violent means is unacceptable,” reads the statement.
In an interview yesterday, National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya confirmed that police had recorded statements f rom vi c tims and opened cases, adding that arrests were imminent.
Said Kalaya: “We are doi ng everything possible to bring the perpetrators to book. As police, we condemn these barbaric acts—they have no place in a democracy. Our CID team is on top of this, and very soon people will hear of arrests.”
With less than six months to the General Election, the violence has prompted some donors to warn Malawians on the importance of safeguarding the country’s hard-earned peace during this period.
Irish Ambassador Kate Brady, speaking at a St. Patrick’s Day reception at the Irish Embassy in Lilongwe on Thursday evening, hailed Malawi’s “extraordinary international record of peace”, but warned against complacency.
She said: “It’s easy to take peace for granted, especially when it has lasted so long. Leaders in politics and other sectors must keep advocating for peace, even when it feels secure.
“One of the most impressive things is that most people still cherish and are able to spend time with their grandparents because they still know who their grandparents are, and they still have those connections to their villages or to the cities that they’ve grown up in. That’s not something that’s true in many countries across the world. It’s not something that’s true even within this region.”
Brady, however, added that freedom of expression remains important and that Malawians “should not be silent for the sake of peace”.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), in a statement issued yesterday, expressed alarm at the surge in political violence and criticised law enforcement’s “seeming unpreparedness” to investigate and prosecute perpetrators.
The statement, signed by CMD board chairperson Elias Chakwera, described the level of political intolerance ahead of this year’s general election as “unimaginable”.
It reads: “In recent times, the country has witnessed the vandalism of vehicles belonging to two DPP women parliamentarians within Parliament premises in Lilongwe, the attack on an MCP vehicle in Nselema, Machinga, the stripping of women in MCP regalia in Ndirande, Blantyre, the stoning of the Aford president’s motorcade in Mchesi, Lilongwe, and the beating of DPP supporters in Mponela, Dowa, and Lilongwe. All these acts are believed to have been orchestrated by political opponents.”
CMD warned that such violence risks creating a “volatile environment” that could deter citizens from participating in electoral processes.
In November last year, masked armed hooligans dispersed protesters in Lilongwe who were demanding electoral reforms from the Malawi Electoral Commission and National Registration Bureau.
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) dismissed claims by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that the ruling party sponsored the attacks.
In a televised address on November 27 2024, President Chakwera condemned political violence and ordered police to arrest perpetrators.
