Ambulance driver faces dismissal for cruising past presidential convoy

April 17, 2019 Owen Khamula - Nyasa Times 82 Comments

An ambulance driver in Lilongwe faces dismissal after he cruised past a presidential convoy as he had two critically ill patients – one was on oxygen – on board.

An ambulance driver disciplined

He was taking the patients; a child who was on oxygen and a critically anaemic woman to Kamuzu Central Hospital.

The police followed the driver up to the hospital where they wanted to arrest him and impound the ambulance but after discussions with hospital management, they just summoned the driver to police headquarters.

It is not known whether the police will arrest him or just caution him.

District Commission for Lilongwe Lawford Palani defended the police action, saying the behavior by the ambulance driver compromised the security of President Peter Mutharika.

“What the driver did was indiscipline. He has to respect the Head of State,” said Palani.

However, Malawians on social media are all up in arms against the police, saying the ambulance driver did nothing wrong as he wanted to save lives of two people.

“This is unfair. The President was going to Kasungu for political campaign but the ambulance was going to hospital with critically ill patients, this is selfishness,” reads one comment.

UTM presidential hopeful Saulos Chilima who is also State vice president has time and again said when voted into power, he would order that roads should not be closed just because the President wants to pass.

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82 replies on “Ambulance driver faces dismissal for cruising past presidential convoy”

  1. Convoy yakoyo ukapangila ku mpanda kwa amako tikavota pa 21 may, ndatopa nawe galu iwe.Wapha anthu achalobino ndiye apa wati uphe ana osalakwa amu-ambulansi khoswe iwe.Pamnyo pako peter mutharika mbuzi yachabechabe.

  2. Paja zinayamba ndi nkhunda kukanika kuuluka, osaiwala, zitanthauzanji, DPP Admin dont care about people’s lives.
    pa 21 sikale munya muona……..Bravo ambulance driver for your brevity, tikufuna ma citizens ngat inu, tisinthe zinthu

    1. Muuze galu ameneyo, akuyesa ngati pa 21 ndi kale kkkkkk.Mbuzi yachabechabe ana osadyerera afe kaamba ka nkhalamba ngati imene ija zoona?, apakira Pompano.Wandikwana galu ameneyu.

  4. Driver wanzeru sangaphetse ana achichepere kaamba ka nkhalamba yakutha kale ngati khoswe otchedwa pitayu.Mbuzi yachabechabe.

  6. Driver was doing what is employed for and that is to save lives. Arrest the President for blocking the ambulance. In 2016 my sister was killed at Karonga because of this presidential nonsense.

  7. Wat d fuck iz goin on MW……sum1 is dyng n yu want to slow down jst coz u president…..??NO we need change…….and at that moment munakaenera kuuza drivrs on ur convoy like too to help him clear the road to hospital…….nt dismis him

  11. Peter Mutharika doesn’t care about the sick that why he want the while road for himself. He has grown too big. But come May 21 we are going to send you packing.

  12. This is very absurd by the police and their president, why summoning the driver? Stupidity at its maximum.

  13. Kumalawiku anthu mukupanga zopusa kwambiri, inu zoona driver wa ambulance alephere kupulumusa miyoyo ya anthu angapo chifukwa chamunthu m’modzi???.M’modzi weniweniyu zoona??.PETER MUTHARIKA akuzitenga ngati ndani poti ngakhale atumiki amati: ‘lolani aliyense adze kwa ine’ ndipo dziwani kuti ndife ofanana pamaso pamulungu osati manyi ngati amenewo ayi.Akuyesa kuti sadzafa?, kapena azikhalabe president mpakana liti?.Inunso apolisi pamtumbo panu nonse amene mumaitsatira ambulance imene, mukadamva bwanji odwalawo mukanakhala inu driver wa ambulance ndikuimitsa galimoto kapena kumayenda pang’onopang’ono inu muli pawululu waukulu??.Dziwani kuti wina aliyense ndi munthu ndipo ndife ofanana.

  14. Winayo Ali ndi zaka 80 winayo kwatsala mwina zaka 75 kuti adzafike pa akuluwa,nde afe chifukwa cha wina,penapake don’t be selfish, and ambulance siyenera kuyimira ngakhale convoy,

  17. And iweyo wapolice ndiwe munthu womvesa chisoni Kwambiri basi kupeleka mbale kapena nyali cholinga bwana akukondeni.. pali zithu zina zofunika Mjamabu.. wake up police musakhale Police Slow..

  18. Iwe DC Lawford Palani ulibe umuthu.. And just know kuti umoyo wamuthu ndiwofunika than your stupid comment. How I wish akanakhala mwana wako or nkazi wako ali mu Ambulance mo.

  20. Zochitika pa Nyasa kugwesa ulesi one party rule inatilowa magazi ndikuona tikupezeka tili nganganga ndi malamulo omwewo

  21. APM, this is an opportunity for you to gain political mileage: Instruct the Inspector General of Police to release the driver forthwith without any charges.

  22. What does the DC have to do with this so as to comment on it in his capacity as DC? Go ahead n dismiss the driver and see if you will not pay him for your sins

  23. These are the people we need to praise for good works. He protected the greatest right of all- which is life (of a kid and a woman) rather than some kick8ng octagenerian

  25. Kutereku Presidenta can be happy kumva kuti mbuyo mwa convoy mwana wamwalira coz ambulance singadutse?

  28. The presdent is a head of state not a god. The driver had critical people who needed urgent help. I think Peters convoy was compromising petience right to medication which his very government is failling to improve. Was the amburance using cyline if yes then why put him in trouble

  29. Oh my God! What’s so special about Mutharika for us to sacrifice the lives of two people just to let him pass? Malawians are good at making of dictators! Wouldn’t lives of the patient been compromised as well had he waited?

  30. This driver is a hero. If he is dismissed, let the nation know. We have to pull together to have him have an employment and a means of survival. He is a hero the country needs most. Even more than the selfish president.

  32. For the risks he took to save the lives of two people critically ill all he gets in return is police charge . Really?. We should be asharmed as a nation. This guy deserves nothing less than promotion.

  33. Ufiti suposa apa. Shame on you. The life of the child is more important to Malawi than mutharika’s life.

  35. Stupid police, pathetic administration. Bravo ambulance driver for saving the two lives and job well done. If it was the presidents’ wife or minister in the ambulance I doubt the police would have any problems with it. So police, arrest and torture yourselves like you do to others. Live the driver alone.

  36. What a useless president we have to condone such nonsense and just sit phwii at state house whilst this innocent driver gets abused and assaulted by dpp thugs disguised in police uniforms. Are there any brains left in the police service? You mean the correct action for the ambulance driver was to park his car and allow the patients to die just so that the President could conduct his whistle stop?

  37. We all know that compromising security of a president is a serious offense but sometimes the lives of ordinary Malawians matters depending on the situation at hand,in this case the driver was not wrong as he had an ethical reason to save lives even though his ethics were in contradiction with the law therefore as a judge I set free the driver and ordered the president to repay Malawians their 145,000,000 which one Mr. Karim deposited to his personal account in party name

  38. In hisyour myopic wisdom Palani can sink so low to save his position. I feel sorry for the political DC who doesnt care if one lose life just for the presdent to pass. Such bootlickers need to be fired akawina ena.

  39. Cimidzi m8dzi
    He cares less for the sick.
    He gets airllifted to and from the US
    When he bloody get ill

  41. Why bringing in Chilima in the story when it’s all about the ambulance driver? Find a different forum to campaign for your overrated Chilima & not in this story. This is cheap journalism. Why do they push on coming vehicles to the side for his convoy to pass? He is faling to do that now & why wait when he takes over the presidency? Hypocrite!

  42. Bravo…. That’s the kind of men we need in Malawi to turn things around….. Fuck the president and his political Rally

  43. Stupid DC and the police, just keep quiet if you’ve nothing to say! think if it were your daughter, sister! security of the president?…… he is going on 21.05.19 be careful!!!!!!!!

  45. What could be the reason for dismissing him? What wrong did he do? What is important between lives of people and the presidential rally? Do we people fear God in this country? Eeeeish!!!!!!! 21st May ikutalika bwanji? Shaaaa!

  47. What type of govt is this that does not consider well fare of its citizen more over the child that did nothing wrong on earth but was on oxygen what if this child was your child Police acted very wrongly such decisions are gravely denting the image of the president more over 34 days remaining to vote very shame. In 1984 an ambulance carrying a pregnant woman from Mchinji going to KCH passed Kamuzu’s convoy. As soon as the woman arrived at KCH, She delivered a baby boy and they called him Kamuzu. Kamuzu Banda looked for the driver and promoted him for his boldness. What is this we are seeing in this dpp administration nkhanza basi ndiyetu zikutha pa 21 May pano.

  48. APM thinks nothing of blocking the M1 for a whole hour simply because he is holding a whistle stop at any given trading center. This has to stop. Why not go to a place a short distance away from the M1 and hold the meeting there? Life for everyone using the M1 does NOT have to stop simply because the President is campaigning. Being president should mean putting the welfare of ALL Malawians at the top of the President’s priorities. On the M1 people are rushing to hospital, funerals, job interviews, important meetings etc

  49. The president need to reconsider his road trips-they are both costly and archaic. On the first hand those accompanying him on these journeys consume more tax payer money and compromises trader who have to stop long hours just for the president to pass(but hey time is valuable and is money), on the other hand stoppages by Malawi police services are illogical; we get stopped long hours on routes almost detours in nature. In my view in districts we lack detours and frankly saying we need new presidential roads across the nation and other off-street roads where drivers can roll free. Prosecuting a driver who holds ethics highly is archaic. This man need an accolade…End

    1. Inu ndiye achitsilu. Uyambe wabelekapo ndiye akadzadwala mwana wakoyo udzakambe zopusa zakozo. Munthu wosabeleka woti sunadwalapo ngati iwe usamapange comment . bakha wachabechabe.

  54. I would ask what does the law say in circumstances like these. If the law is silent then I would say cation is in order. One woild argue that the purpose of the driver would as well be defeat considering how the presidential convoy moves, chance of accident is high especially considering that the ambulance driver do not have the same maneouvres as those of the presidential convoy drivers.
    At the end of the day the law should be clear if it is not cureently.

  56. Koma bale dziko ilili…..aaaaaaaaaaaaah. Zoona tiluze anthu chifukwa choti adutsepo apolofesa zoona?

  57. The driving law says you have to obey the traffic officers regardless of who you have carried. So the ambulance was recklessly driven endangering the life of the patients by driving past armed presidential convoy. Imagine what could be saying had their been an accident.

  58. This old man you call Peter Muthalika must be scratching his balls in agony now. He is lucky to have lived by now. The driver saved lived osati zawozo ayi.

  59. It never rains but pours, ukamafa mumayamba ndi mkhutu kugontha.Amadzala mphuno paulendo basi.

  63. UYUYU SANALAKWE COZ MALAMULO AMU MSEWU AMANENA ZOMWE ANAPANGAZI… OFCOZ CHILIMA AKALOWA MBOMA THIS COUNTRY WILL BE TOTALLY DIFFERENT

  64. Its a complex issue coz HE {meaning any President or the future one} deserves tight security and at the same time an ambulance carrying patients to a hospital was trying to save life. It is possible for people to use an ambulance and cause security challenges to a presidential convoy. The police are justified to act in ‘any’ way to deter or confirm the probable threat. Having done some fact-finding then a decision could have been made on the way forward. The doctrine of neccessity should apply. Vuto ndi kuchepa meaning size ya miseu mulibemo malo odusira ambulance or fire bragade apnthawi yomwe mmiseu mwazaza. We need to rethink about this as a nation to avoid compromising the security of the President and, or at the same time to save lives of those being rushed to hospitals.

    1. Read section 123 of road traffic act 1997 and come again on your comments . what does it say about right of way for state presidential convoy . then you come back to me

  66. Unless we do not have ordinary people’s lives at heart. The president was not on emergency as compared to the patients in this particular ambulance. It is reasoning like this that make all the Police Service guarding the president, instead of preventing crimes and arresting criminals. The ambulance drivers was at his best of his job, a good reason for motivational action towards him

    1. Not all laws make sense inu. They are some pieces of legislation that are simply stupid. Get lost.

  67. Police should have escorted the ambulance

    Police must work with all Malawians when there is only one road or route

  68. 1. ambulance imene yatenga matenda a serious
    2. galimoto zotenga ndalama za boma(reserve bank)
    3.galimoto zozimitsa moto
    ZINTHU ZITATU IZI SIZIYENERA KUYIMA chifukwa choti president akudutsa

  69. Let’s be srious Malawians, here we are talking about somebody trying to save life, why should he get dismissed? Am sure courts and lawyers are eagerly waiting should somebody dare to issue dismissa letter. Let’s wait and see

  70. But why? Here is are driver who was trying to save 2 lives. Abwana amapita ku campaign. Who can save this driver please from jaws of dangerous creators

  71. This once happened during Bingu Era and the driver was promoted for saving life. Malamuloso a road traffic amaloleza ambulance kupanga overtake convoy. Any way poti ulemerero ukutha pa 21 May 2019 pano decide what ever in your favour. But if i was Proffessor peter Muntharika i could have rewarded the driver for saving 2 lives at stake.

  73. A Jose ( IG) kodi school munafika pati?. Harvey, mlowoka, tiyese , et al mbuyanuyo sizikuyendatu anyamata inu. Ndithu mmene akuyendesera police ayi ndithu zikutikaikisa ngati ali munthu odzindikira inu ndithu bwana wanuyo. Everywhere is a civilized world ambulance yoti yatenga matenda , galimoto zotenga ndalama za ku Reserve Bank maiko ena amati Central Bank enanso ngati kuno ku USA amati federal bank komanso on -call fire engines ndithu palibe kuziimisa olo atati pakudusa convoy ya head of state. Tiziti zimenezo a inspector general simukudziwa? Sadly, thats an expensive price we shall be paying for having less schooled and sycophantic people heading institutions of critical importance like police. So sad

  74. Munthu ukamafa umayamba kugotha ….wait we r flashing u out next month.
    President wanji odzikonda chotere

  76. Koma guys respecting the president at the expense of two lives? Chonde tiyeni tichotsa Boma iri

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