Political violence showed its ugly head at Mbowe in the Capita,l Lilongwe on Saturday morning 24 February 2024 where some sustained injuries in a clash between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and some suspected Malawi Congress Party (MCP) followers.
DPP Mulanje Bale Constituency Lawmaker Victor Musowa said the fracas was sparked after alleged MCP supporters wanted to block their Blue Parade which was set to commence from Mbowe, hacking and injuring DPP supporters in the process.
Twenty-five DPP supporters have sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to Kamuzu Central Hospital.
Self defence is self-protection
If violence appears unavoidable, make yourself a small target. Dive into a corner, curl up into a ball, and protect your face and head with your arms. Do not wear scarves or long jewelry. In calm moments between violence, locate a physical place where you can feel safe and relaxed.
Examples: an unarmed man punches Allen Alibi, who hits the attacker with a baseball bat. That is legitimate self-defense, but Alibi cannot chase after the attacker and shoot him or beat him senseless. If the attacker has a gun or a butcher knife and is verbally threatening, Alibi is probably warranted in shooting him.
A man who is attacked or believes that he is about to be attacked may use such force as is both necessary and reasonable in order to defend himself. If that is what he does then he acts lawfully. It follows that a man who starts the violence, the aggressor, cannot rely upon self-defense to render his actions lawful.
Self-defense is the process of defending oneself from an assault. It is typically done by inflicting pain, injury or death on the assailant to protect oneself.
The self-protection motive is believed to be driven by the overarching desire to protect and maintain self-esteem and is activated when an event threatens one’s positive self-views. Threats to positive self-views cause numerous judgmental biases and self-protective psychological responses.
Self-defense can be broken down into three elements; the immediacy of your physical force to protect yourself, your use or threatened use of no more physical force than would have appeared necessary, and your justification in the threat or use of physical force only while the danger continues.
The difference between self-defense and self-protection is self-protection is proactive where self-defense is reactive. The difference between Martial Arts for self-defense and the job of protection is very different.
If you are concerned about the other person, but your intention is to protect your well-being, then you are likely acting out of self-preservation, not selfishness. According to Brené Brown, a famous professor that researches human nature, the most compassionate people are also pros at setting healthy boundaries.
Conclusion
Police investigations are critical to the criminal justice system. Information gained from investigations provides the evidence needed for arrests, prosecutions, and convictions. Without properly conducted investigations, guilty criminals may go free and commit more crimes.
A victim or witness who reports a crime may be rightfully frustrated if police choose not to investigate the matter or make mistakes during an investigation. In such instances, remedies can be few and far between. Most police duties are discretionary, which leaves victims or witnesses with limited options—but some exist. Below we review what types of recourse may be available, from filing complaints to filing lawsuits.
The Malawi Police Service has the constitutional mandate to maintain law and order by enforcing the law through detection of crime, apprehension of suspects and prosecuting them in courts of law there by protecting life and property.
