The Government has condemned the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) for releasing the Msundwe report before presenting it to the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare.
In a statement today, Minister of Gender Mary Navicha said the report about allegations that police officers raped women and girls should have first been shared with her ministry so that it should address the issues raised.
“The Ministry has noted with grave concern that the report we have been waiting for has not been released officially nor presented to the Ministry and other stakeholders, instead, it is circulating on social media and being discussed with the international media houses. This to us, is a sad development.
“The Ministry would therefore like to condemn such behavior by Malawi Human Rights Commission and request the organization to immediately share the official report with the relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare. This will enable the Ministry address the issues raised and work on the recommendations made,” said Navicha.
Her statement comes a day after the European Union in Malawi called on authorities to take action against the police officers who raped the women and girls at Msundwe.
The EU Heads of Mission demanded a “swift and decisive reaction by the competent national authorities, while providing urgently the necessary full support to the survivors or victims of those attacks.”
On Wednesday, October 8, 2019, Police Officers raped women and self-boarding girl students, tortured people, and looted private property during an operation aimed at arresting murder suspects.
The report by the MHRC revealed that the police raped 17 women and girls.
On October 17, the Ministry of Gender said it was working with other key institutions to ensure that the allegations are investigated to their logical conclusions.
However, the Ministry is yet to share with the public the results of what it has done so far to ensure justice for the women and girls.
Why Angry? As a Ministry what have you done so far since these barbaric police men did so at Msundwe? You would have done something if those people were one of your families we know for sure. Remember what you sow is what you ripe so these things will happen to you one of the days coming. Adzakuchindani ulere mudzalira nanunso
Zitsiru za munthu iwe . Why should we wait for you while you know exactly what happened in ntsundwe, do you think if it was your child you was going to say So??????. Nkazi opanda zeru . MHRC thank you for showing up that you are caring for the Citizen of our country. Truth shall save not rubbish
These kids called human rights re just disgusting elements. It seems re looking for popularity. However personally i dont follow them. May God help build Malawi