UN insists on July 20 prosecutions

The reports of cases of extrajudicial killings in which the country’s alleged perpetrators have not yet been prosecuted still bother the United Nations Special Committee on Human Rights.

The alarm come hot on the heels of Capital Hill’s dilly-dallying and reluctance over the prosecution of police officers who were involved in the infamous July 20 killings as well as those who are alleged to have had a hand in the butchering of a student at the Malawi Polytechnic in 2011.

College student Robert Chasowa was found dead in mysterious circumstances and a student at the Natural Resources College in Lilongwe died in police custody in Mzuzu after he was beaten by the police.

On July 20 2011, 20 people were killed during the countrywide demonstrations over abuse of office, among other reasons, by the then State president Bingu wa Mutharika.

The UN has since asked the Capital Hill to prosecute all alleged perpetrators of extrajudicial killings, complete expeditiously all the process that have been already initiated, punish those who are convicted, and protect, rehabilitate and compensate the victims.

In its response to a July report it presented to the Special Commission on Human Rights Committee, the Malawi Human Rights Commission expressed concern over the high numbers of reported cases of torture by law enforcement officers.

It is also concerned that the law does not comply with international standards in regard to the use of firearms by police officers.

The Human Rights Commission has also asked the Malawi Government to establish expeditiously the long-proposed Independent Police Complaints Commission and allocate adequate human and financial resources to it.

It has also asked the government to establish a central system to track all complaints publicly accessible, investigate all cases of torture, prosecute the alleged perpetrators and compensate the victims.

“Ensure that the Police Act comply with the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officers and strengthen its efforts to train police officers in human rights,” the report said.

When contacted, chairperson of the Malawi Human Rights Commission Sophie Kalinde, who presented the Malawi report to the United Nations last month, told the Weekend Nation that her commission would continue to push relevant authorities to bring to book all the perpetrators.

“The Human Rights Commission has all the hope that all perpetrators will be charged accordingly,” she said.

In a separate interview, senior State advocate Dziko Malunda said the prosecutions of the cases are expected to start next week.

Last month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Gerald Neuman accused Malawi of failing to protect civil and political rights.

Malawi is among six countries including, Chile, Georgia, Ireland, Sudan and Japan that recently came under investigation of the UN Human Rights Committee, a group that monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.