The Leadership Institute for Transparency and Accountability (LITA) has joined a growing chorus of voices condemning the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), describing the group as a “disgraced and politically compromised outfit” that has lost its moral authority to represent Malawians.
In a statement signed by Executive Director Goodwell Logeya, LITA said HRDC’s recent demand for government action on the fuel, water, and electricity crises is “the height of hypocrisy and shameless opportunism.”
“For the past five years, HRDC chose silence as governance and accountability deteriorated under the previous administration. During that period, the organization openly aligned itself with the very political forces whose policies and mismanagement deepened the crises now afflicting the nation.
“HRDC’s current attempt to shift blame onto the new administration—after being complicit in creating the same mess—amounts to hypocrisy of giganticproportion,” reads part of the statement.
LITA accused HRDC of betraying the people of Malawi by turning the civic space into a political playground. According to the institute, the group lost all credibility when it chose to dance to the tune of power instead of standing for truth and justice.
The group says legitimate human rights and governance advocacy require consistency, honesty, and moral independence, arguing that civil society cannot serve as a political tool when convenient and then pretend to be a watchdog when power changes hands.
“Such selective activism undermines public trust in the entire civic space and weakens the struggle for genuine accountability,” Logeya added. “LITA believes that rebuilding national confidence demands a new culture of truth, transparency, and shared responsibility.
The group says the crises Malawi faces today are not the result of a single administration but of years of poor governance, politicized institutions, and compromised watchdogs.
LITA calls on HRDC to acknowledge its own role in the current situation and to recommit itself to genuine, non-partisan advocacy guided by the principles of integrity, independence, and national interest.
