By Vincent Gunde
The Malawi Police Service (MPS) has strongly warned politicians and those in authority to desist from making insensitive statements that promote violence especially now that the country is preparing for the 2025 General Elections.
The warning is following the arrest of DPP Regional Governor for the Eastern Region David Chikwanje over a video clip circulating on social media in which he was seen encouraging DPP followers to attack and kill supporters of the MCP by setting them ablaze.
The MPS has reminded all that it is a crime to incite violence as provided for by section 87 of the Penal Code saying the Service will not hesitate to arrest and bring those involved.
The arrest of Chikwanje has been greeted with a loud noise of applause by the MCP media team who started alerting the police to take to action the Regional Governor soon after the clip went viral in the social media and no wonder, earlier in the day, he was summoned to appear before the police at Liwonde Police Station.
The reports are indicating that the accused person David Chikwanje appeared before the Magistrate court sitting at Zomba where it made a ruling that the offence was committed at Nsanama and the closest court is Liwonde.
In the previous court appearances, Bon Kalindo was arrested in Salima, Kamlepo Kalua was arrested in Blantyre, Bishop Gondwe of the Livingstonia CCAP Synod in Mzuzu was arrested in Mzuzu, all these three accused were refereed to Lilongwe Magistrate court as if where they were arrested, there are no competent courts of laws.
A Malawi Congress Party (MCP) diehard of Mvera in Dowa district Mr. Rodgers Kamphangala, has accused the MCP of applying selective justice claiming that the issue in connection with Chikwanje’s arrest have the bone of contention-Mbowe filling station in Lilongwe on 24th February, 2024.
Kamphangala said had it been that the Police are discharging their duties as mandated for in the Republican Constitution, MCP youth members who hacked DPP members armed themselves with panga knives, stones and catapults disrupting the DPP Blue Convoy Parade in Lilongwe.
He said the Mbowe incident was the second in Lilongwe alone after DPP members of Mtsiriza and Mtandire were beaten with big sticks and had their t-shirts torn into pieces at the Kamuzu Mausoleum, City Centre in Lilongwe, and the recent beating of ANA ACHEPA.
The MCP diehard said in all these incidences, police have made no arrests to this day making opposition parties to label Malawi Police Service as MCP police with reference to the way they are discharging their duties.
“In Phalombe, the police arrested one, DPP Governess, and today, arresting DPP Regional Governor for inciting violence while MCP thugs are left scot-free because they are in government,” said Kamphangala.
He has since called on President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to discipline his youth in MCP claiming that they are the ones inciting violence in Malawi not DPP members advising senior MCP members to learn to tell the truth that who exactly are inciting violence in the country,
