‘You are just ignorant,’ says Dausi to the opposition

Government has accused opposition parties of being ignorant of the country’s laws suggesting that the parties want President Peter Mutharika’s administration to act like a dictatorship.

Minister of information Nicholas Dausi who also acts as government spokesperson made the accusations when responding to opposition’s claim that no one has been arrested in connection to the maizegate scandal which hit headlines in the past four months.

At a press conference held in Lilongwe on Thursday morning, opposition parties told the press that they are wondering why no any person has been arrested and taken to court though both Presidential and Parliamentary inquiries on the scandal found that there were some suspicious corrupt acts in the deal.

In his response, Dausi said that it seems that most Malawians are not aware of this country’s laws and he added that it’s the duty of judiciary to deal with all the justice matters.

“It is true, we are really understanding them but it seems most people do not know our laws. Remember someone is proved guilty or not by the courts.

” They think that we can be using laws which were used in the past where if you were suspecting someone of committing the crime you just kill or do something else,” said the Minister.

At the briefing, the parties also demanded for investigations into what they called ‘suspicious’ deaths of Justice Maxon Mbendera and Justice George Bakuwa.

Leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera in his address said Malawians are eager to know what killed the two.

“Credibility of our national institutions for the rule of law, transparency and accountability has been put into question. Suspicious deaths of Justice Mbendera and Justice Bakuwa have not been put under investigation,” said the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president.

People’s Progressive Movement (PPM) leader, Mark Katsonga, added that there is a need to have investigations into these deaths.

“All of us stood and we were voted for. It is an insult that the whole government machinery should come from one tribe. Any suspicious death must be investigated. We need Mbendera’s death to be thoroughly investigated,” he said.

Mbendera, Chairperson of Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) died in August 2016 after collapsing during a meeting in Lilongwe while Justice Bakuwa died in November the same year while working on the controversial maize purchase from Zambia.

Leaders that were present at the briefing include Newton Kambala President of United Transformation Party, Sam Mpasu President of New Labour Party, Loveness Gondwe President of National Rainbow Coalition, Uladi Mussa Acting President People’s Party, George Nnesa President of Malawi Forum for Unity & Development and Mark Katsonga Phiri.