Malawi Police Service officers ostensibly assigned to provide security turned into spectators as hoodlums took control and dispersed opposition protesters demanding that Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and National Registration Bureau (NRB) to address electoral concerns.
With their faces covered and armed with pangas and other objects, the unidentified thugs descended on Lilongwe Community Centre ground in Old Town and started chasing the protesters who had gathered at the designated starting point.
The protesters planned to march to MEC offices to deliver their petition demanding the resignation of MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja, MEC chief elections officer Andrew Mpesi and NRB Principal Secretary Mphatso Sambo for alleged failure to discharge duties and preside over the September 16 2025 General Elections.
Meanwhile, police officers were seen watching the spectacle from a distance as the hoodlums terrorised the demonstrators mostly from opposition political parties and civil society organisations (CSOs).
Ironically, police had earlier thrown tear gas canisters at the protesters.
Now in full control, the thugs barricaded the community ground, pushing away anyone they suspected to be around the scene to hold protests.
In the course of the commotion, some people sustained injuries. The ugly scenes also disrupted businesses in Lilongwe Old Town, where shops remained closed for the most part of the day.
Opposition parties have linked the assault to Malawi Congress Party (MCP), a key member of the governing Tonse Alliance.
In an interview yesterday, UTM Party spokesperson Felix Njawala said the violent disruption of the peaceful demonstrations was a clear violation of citizens’ democratic rights and an attempt at suppressing opposition voices.
He said: “This points to a deliberate attempt to undermine opposition efforts. Such acts can lead to larger social unrest and have seen other countries experiencing deepening divisions.
“It is the role of authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident. The use of pangas and violent intimidation suggests an organised effort to instil fear, and these actions were visibly tolerated, if not orchestrated, by people close to ruling party structures.”
Njawala said as an opposition party, they are calling for transparency and accountability in identifying and prosecuting those responsible.
In a separate interview, Alliance for Democracy (Aford) spokesperson Annie Amatullah Maluwa blamed the MCP for the violence.
She said since opposition parties started raising issues concerning MEC and NRB regarding handling of the electoral process; it is MCP that has been responding.
However, Maluwa said the opposition parties and other Malawians will not relent until issues have been addressed.
But MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwira distanced her party from the thuggish conduct and alleged that the hoodlums belonged to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“They should bring proof that it was MCP. They can’t just wake up and say it is MCP. We were in Mchinji busy campaigning so that people should register for the elections next year,” she said.
Speaking during a press briefing later in the afternoon, Aford president Enoch Chihana claimed that the government was aware of the violence against opposition parties, but decided not to act.
In a twist of events, a man who claimed to be a National Intelligence Service (NIS) officer was caught allegedly spying at Aford offices in Lilongwe where the opposition parties had organised a press briefing to condemn the violence that happened earlier yesterday.
Some opposition members suspected that the man was an intruder and they apprehended him.
However, some leaders of the opposition parties came to his rescue to properly ask him about his mission at the event and he stated he was from NIS.
Minutes after the briefing, armed police officers stormed the Aford offices, saying they had heard that there was fracas and wanted to check what was happening and ensure order.
However, the opposition supporters asked the police officers to leave, calling them hypocrites.
In a written response, National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya said the information police had was that there will be no demonstrations and the police deployed officers for normal patrols.
He said the police did not get reports of people being attacked or injured. However, he said the police got information that businesspersons moved to protect their businesses.
Meanwhile, human rights activists have condemned the violence, calling on the Police to bring the perpetrators to book.
In an interview, Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence urged the police to arrest those that carried pangas and chased people who wanted to exercise their right to demonstrate.
He said: “It is unfortunate that this happened on the watch of Police. The police should rise above party politics and should arrest those who perpetrated this violence.”
Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation executive officer Michael Kaiyatsa condemned the police for letting a group of people terrorise others.
He expressed sadness that people’s right to assembly, provided in the Malawi Constitution, was violated.
Lilongwe District Council had on Tuesday asked the protesters to postpone their march on the basis that police were stretched, as such, could not provide security to them.
The opposition parties are protesting against the electoral body and NRB leadership as well as the use of Smartmatics information and communication technology election management system, among others.
But in a letter dated November 11 2024 addressed to secretaries general of opposition parties demanding her resignation, Mtalimanja, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, said MEC is committed to discharging its powers and functions within the framework of the country’s constitution.
