The Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) has decried low staffing levels and a lack of vehicles to carry out operations, a situation which has paralysed the institution.
In an interview yesterday, ICC commissioner Chris Tukula said they have one vehicle, forcing them to use hired cars to carry out investigations, which is unsustainable with the current funding levels.
The commission was established in 2020 under Section 128 of the 2010 Police Act.
Its mandate is to receive and investigate complaints by the public against police officers and the police while ensuring the overall accountability of the service. The commission rolled out its operations on July 1 2021.
Tukula said they receive about 20 complaints per month against the police, but they have five investigators to handle such a workload.
Said Tukula: “The cost of hiring vehicles has become increasingly unsustainable. We have spent K45 million in the current financial year. Yet, each trip to conduct an investigation costs us K3 million. If we had our vehicles, we would be able to conduct many investigations.”
Available data shows that ICC was allocated K957 million in the 2024/25 financial year, of which K200 million was budgeted for the procurement of vehicles.
However, government effected a K177 million or 23 percent budget cut during the Mid-Year Budget Review, forcing the commission to fail to employ 10 permanent staff members and procure vehicles.
The total budget for the upcoming fiscal year has been increased to K1.4 billion, including K300 million meant for the purchase of additional vehicles.
Tukula said the institution needs at least K400 million to buy four off-road vehicles as a startup for their independent operations.
“Currently, we do not have regional offices, and tackling those complaints requires resources in the form of off-road vehicles, fuel, and accommodation.
“Being a new institution, we are recruiting more staff members, and to be effective, we need a capital budget for vehicles and office equipment apart from the regular ORT [other recurrent transactions] allocation,” he said.
Commenting on the development, Human Rights Defender Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence said underfunding the ICC means denying Malawians access to justice.
“The backbone of democracy is access to justice. Malawi needs to invest in increasing access to justice by increasing funding to institutions like ICC,” he said.
He has since urged the Ministry of Finance, through Parliament, to increase funding allocated to the commission in the 2025/2026 financial year.
Minister of Homeland Security Ezekiel Ching’oma did not respond to our queries yesterday. However, while visiting the ICC on March 10, he reiterated government’s commitment towards supporting the commission as part of a broader agenda to promote accountability and rule of law in the police.
So far, the ICC has received 351 complaints, investigated and completed 64. There are 219 complaints still under investigation, while 10 complaints were withdrawn.
