Lawyer and Nkhotakota Central legislator Sylvester Ayuba James says what former President Lazarus Chakwera is currently going through are consequences of his failure to reform the Malawi Police Service, accusing him of remaining silent and “watching with smiles” while peaceful demonstrators were being attacked by ruling party supporters.
James made the remarks in a Facebook post following Thursday’s incident in which Police fired teargas at Chakwera and Malawi Congress Party supporters after they were blocked from laying wreaths at the Kamuzu Mausoleum during Kamuzu Day commemorations.
In the post, James argued that Chakwera had a rare opportunity to transform the Police after assuming power in 2020, but instead presided over what he described as a compromised institution that continued to serve political interests.
He recalled several incidents between 2018 and 2020 when MCP members allegedly suffered abuse at the hands of Police under the Democratic Progressive Party administration, including the teargassing of Chakwera at the party headquarters during a meeting with diplomats and the alleged attack on MCP offices during the 2019 post-election protests.
“For me, those incidents and a few others should have equipped Dr. Chakwera with the right anger to reform the police once he got in power, so that when he is out of it, he could be treated much better and live in a more civilised world. But what did MCP and Chakwera do with the Police during their five years of power?” Ayuba James wrote.
The lawmaker questioned what the MCP administration did with the Police during its five years in government, accusing Chakwera of failing to act while opposition figures and critics allegedly faced attacks from ruling party supporters.
James cited incidents involving activist Sylvester Namiwa, violence against opposition supporters at Mbowe, and attacks on female civil servants during demonstrations, claiming the Police either failed to intervene or deliberately stood aside.
“Chakwera watched with a smile as this very Police abandoned marching female civil servants, allowing the women to be thoroughly hacked by MCP thugs without any disturbance,” he added.
He also criticized Chakwera’s decision to extend the contract of former Inspector General Merlyne Yolamu beyond retirement age, arguing that the move reflected the administration’s unwillingness to reform the institution.
James further alleged that the Malawi Police Service has, over the years, operated as a political tool for ruling parties, saying different administrations have used the institution to target opponents and protect party loyalists.
“The civility with which Police treat members of opposition parties in a country is, to an extent, a measure of the development and maturity of the country’s democracy and its civil rights regime,” he wrote.
