By Vincent Gunde
The Senior Magistrate Court in Lilongwe has set 8th January, 2026 for hearing a case of MCP panga wielding thugs who ambushed DPP members and supporters at Mbowe Filling Station in Lilongwe on the 24th February, 2024.
On the said date, DPP members and supporters were expected to hold a Blue Convoy Parade show travelling in all townships of Lilongwe with one message to all DPP members and supporters to be united that the party is alive and kicking.
Armed MCP panga wielding thugs ambushed DPP supporters leaving scores of people hacked and many suffered various degrees of injuries and were treated as outpatients at the Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe.
On this fateful day, a number of DPP vehicles were broken into, windows smashed and property including car radios stolen leaving the owners helpless blaming the MCP for the attack but the MCP rejected on the claims that DPP members hacked themselves at the Mbowe Filling Station.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) reported the incident to Lilongwe Police Station but no assistance was rendered, DPP members and supporters that were hacked by pangas recovered in silence, the police was not for the people but a political party in government- the MCP.
The change of government saw the DPP coming back to power and this led the police to exercise their constitutional mandate of arresting 17 suspects who were terrorizing and hacking innocent people in Lilongwe and other surrounding areas.
All the 17 suspects were granted court bail to the dismay of millions of Malawians that beside the tangible evidence which was on the table, the court ordered Malawi Police not to re arrest the suspects, they all walked to freedom.
On the 3rd December, 2025 the 17 suspects appeared before the Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Court to be told of the date for the commencement of their case but their lawyers were nowhere to be spotted and the reasons that made them not to come to the court were not communicated.
“The State was ready with three witnesses to testify against the 17 arrested suspects currently on court bail but the suspects’ lawyers were not available,” said State Prosecutor Prescort Mwaiulipo.
