Malawian woman to sue police

A Blantyre based woman has sued Bangwe Police for what she believes was an unlawful arrest of her child.

The woman, Lucy Chidule said her 17 year old son Edgar Mabaluka was picked up by police last Monday when he went to buy medicine at a shop and was detained for a week.

Speaking with this publication, Chidule said she suspects Detective Phiri who is also head of CID at Bangwe police as the person behind the cruelty the boy faced.

She said she was told of her child’s whereabouts by his close friend on Wednesday and upon visiting the police she was denied the right to see her child.

She said: “I was alerted on Wednesday that my boy has been arrested. I stay at Banana and the boy stays around Mthandizi. But when I went to visit him at police I was denied access to see him. They said I didn’t bring any food.

“He is a minor and a school going kid but he was put together in a cell with convicts who were waiting to be transferred to prison. This is worrisome to me as a mother.”

Chidule added that the child was detained at Bangwe police and then jailed for three days at Limbe Police Station.

She said Mabaluka was denied his right to contact his parents for a total of two days, during which he was not given any food.

Chidule believes the authorities violated her constitutional rights to visit the child and that is why she is suing.

Information this publication has established shows that the boy was arrested on Monday.

The police however claims it was on Wednesday.