Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Commander General Paul Velentino Phiri has justified the military’s position to condemn political vio-lence and call to people against “being used by some political par-ties and civil society organisations [CSOs]”.
In a telephone interview yesterday after issuing a joint statement with Malawi Police Service Inspector General Merylyne Yolamu, the MDF chief said apart from the primary duty of protecting the nation from external aggression, the military also has a secondary function in maintaining law and order within the country.
Said Phiri: “We know there will be elections and there are people who are instigating violence for their own interest. We have a role to play to ensure law and order prevails and this is why we have joined the police to prevent any acts that may undermine peace and security.”
But some CSOs have questioned the timing of the gesture, stating that attacks on opposition political parties and some CSOs have gone without any action from the security agencies.
However, when asked why there was no intervention when panga-wielding youths terrorised demonstrators in Lilongwe last November, Phiri said the MDF is well-meaning and will come in at any time to promote peace and security and will deal with any perpetrator of violence regardless of their background.
Under Section 160 (b) of the Constitution, MDF is mandated to “up-hold and protect the constitutional order in the Republic and assist the civil authorities in the proper exercise of their functions under the Constitution”.
In a separate interview, Malawi Law Society president Patrick Mpa-ka said under this provision MDF is within the law to join hands with police in internal security matters.
In the joint statement, MDF and police strongly warned citizens to desist from being used by “some political parties, CSOs and individ-uals in acts of political violence. MDF and Police assure Malawians that they are taking all necessary measures to curb political vio-lence to ensure maximum protection of citizens and their property”.
The statement also condemned some unnamed political parties, CSOs and individuals for inciting violence which has resulted in “breach of security, civil unrest and violation of human rights thereby compromising national security”.
But in separate interviews, Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka and his Centre for Human Rights and Rehabili-tation (CHRR) counterpart Michael Kaiyatsa questioned the timing of the statement saying it serves no purpose.
In a telephone interview, Kajoloweka described the statement as “nonsense”, saying the police have no moral ground to condemn political violence. On MDF, he said the military was literally lowering its integrity by being part of the statement.
He said: “We all know whose interest the police are serving. This is an institution that has reigned terror on citizens in the interest of the ruling party. We have all seen incidents where police have deliber-ately allowed party sponsored thugs destabilise peaceful demon-strations.
“Instead of a statement, we need accountability on what the po-lice has done to bring to book the thugs it has allowed to cause po-litical violence. This insecurity is of their own making and MDF should not be dragged into this.”
Kaiyatsa, while welcoming the MDF involvement to curb political violence, said the intervention is too little too late.
Yolamu, who co-signed the statement with Phiri, could not grant us an interview because she said she was attending a presidential engagement.
But in separate interviews yesterday, civil rights activist Sylvester Namiwa and governance analyst Wonderful Mkhutche also faulted the police for not acting on panga-wielding thugs who on two occasions foiled demonstrations organised by CSOs and oppo-sition political parties in Lilongwe.
In December 2024, Yolamu told the media that the police had ar-rested thugs who foiled demos, but identities of those apprehended have remained under wraps.
National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya, asked if those arrested had been charged, said in a brief response yesterday: “The police have spoken enough on this matter.”
The disruptions of peaceful demonstrations occurred in full view of police officers who took no steps to restrain them or protect the demonstrators.
Previously, opposition parties had also been attacked at Mbowe Service Station and Msundwe in Lilongwe as well as Mponela in Dowa, among other incidents. On the other hand, governing Ma-lawi Congress Party has also had its fair share, including the stoning of a presidential motorcade in Chikwawa and an at-tack on Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu in Ndirande Township, Blantyre.
Malawi will hold a general election on September 16 2025 to elect a President, members of Parliament and ward councillors.
