By Synd Kalimbuka & Martha Chikoti
Concerned Citizens pushing for arrests over the death of Emmilie Halimana Noel have maintained that they will go ahead with earlier decision to hold demonstrations despite Lilongwe District Council refusing to give permission to the organisers.
The protests were planned to be held on Wednesday but the council told the organisers that the police will be busy providing security up to December to the people who are coming from abroad for football games.
Addressing members of the media during a Press Briefing at Crown Hotel in Lilongwe, Wells Khama, lead organizer said they were not convinced by reasons provided by the council that police officers will be busy providing security to participants of Region 5 Games from other countries which Malawi is hosting this year.
They alleged that police are playing delaying tactics to make it possible that the demonstrations should not take place.
“This scenario is showing that they have ganged up to infringe rights of people in the country. We will not stop until Justice prevails,” he said.
Following the decision by Lilongwe District Council to postpone demonstrations, organizers rushed to court to challenge the decision.
By the time this press briefing ended, the outcome of the court was not yet known.
Khama added that earlier in the month of November this year, the District Commissioner advised to meet Area 3 police officials to discuss on the matter before they went to the street.
“We accepted to suspend the demonstration on conditions that police should arrest the suspects connected to the death of the businessman in which they did not do,” he said.
Halimana Noel aged 36 , allegedly died in a road accident in Lilongwe along the MI road around the Kanengo Northgate area on October 17,2022.
However, a post-mortem report which was authorized by a forensic clinical officer at Kamuzu Central Hospital suggests that Halimana was possibly murdered and the accident was a cover-up.
The activists want police to arrest people suspected to have been involved in the alleged murder.
National Police Spokesperson Supt. Peter Kalaya said police were investigating the matter and will not be influenced by pressure from some people.
