Malawi Police bans post elections protests

July 30, 2019

Inspector General of the Malawi Police Service Rodney Jose has admitted, the country’s political impasse is getting out of control, and demanded organisers of the post-elections protests to stop the demonstrations to prevent further damaging of property and injuries.

Jose who was accompanied by Malawi Defense Forces’ Chief said the police would not be able to provide adequate security on people and property since the protest’s organisers challenge to take an extra gear if Chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission Jane Ansa refuses to step down.

The protesters let by the Human Rights Defenders Coalition want Ansa to resign for allegedly messing up the May elections where President Peter Mutharika was declared a winner.

In the previous protests, the demonstrators had at some point been chasing out the police officers deployed to guard them, linking them to the ruling party whose supporters could beat up the protesters in full view of the police.

The Police Inspector General, however, argues that the protests have not been peaceful as promised by the organisers.

“The protests are provided with a platform for criminals to do their criminal activities, some sectors of the society have declared war on the police, and such society make peace with criminals,” he said during a press conference in Lilongwe.

He has since threatened to disperse the demonstrators if they attempt to go on the streets.

“As a security agency we can not just sit back and watch, we will not tolerate demonstrations that are not peaceful,” he said.

The Malawi Police Chief, however, failed to respond to the journalists on why he was failing to intervene the cause for the protesters, rather than targeting the demonstrators.

But Timothy Mtambo, the Chairperson of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition has challenged that the order and said that the protests will go on as earlier planned.

Mutambo said the coalition is organizing other huge protests on Tuesday next and they are targeting one million protesters in each of the country’s four cities.