The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has penned Public Appointments Committee (PAC) of Parliament to register its disappointment and dissatisfaction with the performance of George Kainja, the Inspector General (IG) for the Malawi Police Service (MPS).
In a letter which this publication has seen, CDEDI has pointed out that soon after his appointment, Kainja made a pledge to Malawians that his immediate task would be to ensure that the police should gain its lost glory by among many others mending the sour relationship that existed between the law enforcers and the citizens, and improve the internal security.
But two years down the line, according to CDEDI, the situation is worse and far from being what was promised as Malawians are living in fear of their own lives and property.
The letter to PAC signed by CDEDI Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa has included the highlights of engagements the organisation had with IG Kainja on transferring senior officials without following the law and set procedures, nepotism in the current composition of the Police High Command, departments and other police establishments.
The letter is also expressing selective application of justice such as the case of the arrest, granting of bail, and the mysterious whereabouts of the former special assistant to President Lazarus Chakwera, Pastor Martin Thomu, who is suspected to have smuggled a loan authorization bill onto the order paper in Parliament.
CDEDI also accuses police of brutality like in the case of Thyolo and Mulanje where estate owners allegedly “gave money” to police to harass, torture and arrest the landless people who have nowhere to cultivate and are claiming back their pieces of land.
There are also cases where police shot at unarmed citizens, the case of two separate incidences in Bvumbwe, and another in Mulanje where two Primary School pupils were shot at on their way back from school.
Another incident in the letter is throwing a teargas canister at primary school learners, the case of Luchenza Primary School.
Putting Kainja in a fix, according to CDEDI letter, is the question of the welfare of the police, the case of police officers not receiving housing allowances and route lining where the police stand for several hours waiting for the country’s President to pass without food, let alone a bottle of water.
PAC is also reminded to summon the police on the rampant gruesome killings such as the case of the Polytechnic student in Blantyre, a legal practitioner found dead in Blantyre, a Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) official in Dedza, a private soldier for the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) in Kawale, Lilongwe and killings targeting security guards across the country.
“Not to mention of rampant cases of police officers soliciting bribes from suspects to get police bail.
“If the list above is anything to go by, then one can be forced to conclude that we have a wrong person for the position of the IG. It is against this background that we have decided to write you Madam, to consider summoning Kainja to appear before your oversight committee to exonerate himself on why he should not be fired, given all this evidence that has been cited above, which has all the indicators and signs of incompetence and or criminal negligence,” reads the letter from CDEDI.
Namiwa said the letter is a humble request made on behalf of all the well-meaning Malawians, whose lives and property are supposed to be protected by the law enforcement agencies the citizenry can confidently trust, with competent leadership from the office of the IG.
