Trends point to a coincidence between rising cases of insecurity to a change of government in the country and the Malawi Police Service (MPS) says it needs to undertake a research to establish the reasons.
During former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika’s second term of office between 2009 and his death in April 2012, the country was relatively secure.
However, soon after Bingu’s death on April 5 2012 that paved the way for his then estranged vice-president Joyce Banda to ascend to the presidency in line with constitutional order, the country witnessed a return of insecurity with many cases of armed robberies and theft reported.
Among the reported cases were at Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) agency in Thyolo, Balaka district education office, Farmers’ World in Dedza, Pakeeza offices in Lilongwe and from businesspeople in Mzuzu where millions of kwacha were stolen.
Some robberies and thefts were being carried out in daylight, thus creating fear and panic among the people.
The situation is the same now after Peter Mutharika’s rise to power after the May 20 Tripartite Elections.
Today, a day hardly passes without hearing reports of cases of housebreaking or armed attacks.
Police say they need to research to establish the reason for the security elapse.
“This is the question that needs research to establish the causes of such trends. Perhaps social scientists and criminologists could help us in this field [because] you have planted a seed of thought in us to consider,” said National Police spokesperson Rhoda Manjolo.
To curb the situation, Manjolo said instructions have been given to police stations to conduct intelligence-led sweeping operations and intensify investigations into security cases.
Said Manjolo: “We, however, continue to work with various community stakeholders in the creation of a safe and secure environment and information sharing. May we take this opportunity to appeal to all those who have information on perpetrators of crime to give it to police.”
Brigadier Misheck Chirwa, a lecturer in security studies at Mzuzu University (Mzuni), agreed with Manjolo that there is need to research into the matter.
Said Chirwa: “This [research] should take a longer period and the data collected can be analysed and then a proper conclusion reached to establish the cause.”
Meanwhile, Blantyre Urban Community Policing Forum on Wednesday presented a petition to Parliament to intervene in the security challenges facing the country.
The forum raised a number of points that contribute to insecurity. They included inadequate funding to police, lack of police welfare, structure, motivation and poor operations due to transfers mishandling and lack of support from communities and government.
“We wrote and met the then president Joyce Banda on the matter on 2nd September 2013 for her and her government to look into the challenges. The president promised to look into and solve these problems within a specific period [but] nothing has been done,” said the petition.
Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Paul Chibingu on Monday this week assured that security situation will improve.
