Peter Kalaya, Malawi Police Service national spokesperson, I would have been polite in my reaction to how the police tear-gassed school-going children and a mental health clinic while handling the Mzuzu riots.
If I were the face and voice of the so-called reformed police service, I surely would not brag about having handled the riots professionally when the reckless use of tear gas by police officers deployed to restore law and order injured and suffocated scores of children at Katoto Secondary School, Mzuzu CCAP Primary School and nearby settlements.
If I were the police spokesperson, I wouldn’t be insensitive by proclaiming that civilians cannot be telling police how to handle riots when the police actions affect innocent people.
If I were Kalaya, I would realise that my position has never been short of arrogant characters, but they all went, reduced to size and dumped to lick their wounds because no one speaks for the police forever.
If I were the youthful graduate of journalism, I would swallow my pride and admit that the supposedly reformed institution trained in crowd management could have done better.
I would realise that the use of excessive force defies both local and international dos and don’ts, so the uniformed men and women should have used their arms with caution.
Unfortunately, I do not speak for the former Malawi Police Force.
