Calls grow for punishment of cops caught assaulting students: Malawi Police brutality no minor nuisance
Calls are growing for police officers caught on a video clip to face prosecution for chasing students within Chancellor College premises as if they were criminals before confronting two seemingly stranded and unarmed young female students
Newspaper columnist, activist and State-funded Malawi Human Rights Commission have commented on the matter in unison calling for justice for the brutal cops.
They are calling for Police to carry out disciplinary investigations and punish those responsible as soon as possible.
Selina Kainja writing in the Weekend Nation stated: “When I first saw the video, I couldn’t watch it to the end. I just couldn’t stomach it. I imagined the fear the unarmed girls had at the site of the monsters camouflaged as police officers. The overzealous police officers were supposed to protect the students and not to harm them.”
The columnist wrote: “These police officers should be brought to book. They can’t be let free. If Malawi Police Service (MPS) is serious about police reform, the two officers beating students have just dented the image of the police and as such I expect police authorities to act on the two officers”
She condemned cops for storming students’ hostel.
“Tear-gasing students while they sought refuge in their rooms was an act of terror by the police. Someone has to explain and justify why they needed to chase the students from the hostels. Chase them to where?”
The Chanco students’ demonstrations attracted international headlines after the students-police running battles inconvenienced the United States of America (USA) Second Lady Jill Biden on her way to visit Mtubwi Primary School in Machinga last Tuesday.
Kainja wrote that it was “poor judgement” on the part of the police that led to the students blocking US second lady Kill Jill Biden.
“I am so certain the police led the students to the street, and also certain, that the students didn’t know there was some high ranking person on the road on that day. Where else were they supposed to go if they were being chased from their campus?
“Our police officers need to go back to class and learn better ways of crowd or riot control. It has shown that in many cases, when there are demos, police use violence or intimidation to scare people away.”
Human rights activist Rafiq Hajat who is also Executive Director of Institute of Policy for Interaction (IPI) slammed the police for their conduct saying time for police brutality is over.
“I think the days of police brutality are over and time to be accountability has come,” said Hajat om Capital FM.
Malawi Human Rights Commission has since said it is carrying out what it called ‘comprehensive investigations into the matter’.
Chairperson to the Commission Justin Dzonzi, further explained that the findings of the probe will inform the commission’s objective and evidence-based assessment of the situation and the human rights implications thereof, saying that would form the basis of recommendations to concerned authorities as well as “put in place remedial or redress”.
“It [the investigation] will also get to the bottom of the role played by different actors, including the students’ council, the University leadership, and the police in dealing with the event; document the incidences of violence and the consequences thereof; and probe into issues surrounding the use of force by the police in dealing with the situation.”
The statement also touches on several key areas on which it shared its notes, including on human rights, where it seemingly blamed the police for their action in the whole matter; adding the events surrounding the demonstrations raise implications for a number of human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution.
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am not here to cite the constitution nor the un articles or the malawi police service act………………..but openly speaking apolice mwatichitisa manayazi……………………….wat if it was a fellow human being slaapping a police officer like that……….sibwenzi mukuti nd mob justice …………but weallow the police to practice mob justice without any any arrests rilly?……………..let i be the presiding lawyer for the victimts i will punish these self estteemd craxy police officers………………….
Dr Tambala is right. What protection did the students want as it is them who made violent protests? These students should be punished as well as Ayuba for lying to the masses
Some of Chaco students are educated savages. They deserved the slapping. Can a child beat his or her parent like they did to the registrar? And you are calling for Chanco to open. Will the registrar help the same student who beat him? Bwanji muzikangokumba mbewa as mbuyanu wati mizidya mbewa. School ndiye yakulakani. Nkhondo siimanga mudzi ananu!
I beg to differ from all those calling on the punishment of the cops. You people are just reading from the papers but I saw what the students did. They are lying that they were doing a peaceful sit in but they broke windows, beat up the registrar, blocked roads while those of good manners remained in the hostels. Do you wonder how unruly the present generation is because parents and activists simply make those calls without knowing what actually happened. The cops came in to bring sanity to the students. Ana kuwalelera pachilolo zotsatira zake ndi kumenyedwa. Ndani kholo… Read more »
Which police in the world has graduates only? musamanamize wanthu apa, moreover the police now has more graduates than ever. Inu mumawanamiza ana kuti apange demonstrate and vandalise govt property then you expect the police to kneel down and pray for them? Is that proper? Amene akutukwana nayenso
These Policemen ought to be punished but leave it to the Police to do the punishment using internal disciplinary mechanisms.
They did the same thing with Soche Technical College students. Students were harassed ,beaten and chassed outside the campus at dawn yet some had no money, no relatives to seek refuge. It means this may be the tactical plan of their approach in their career. You (human rights)may confirm with the students when they open school in September.
F 5.0……its funny how u guys give such power to limited capacity human beings……the assaults where happening mbali ina and ,,i mean who does that,,,
Little wonder. The majority of our cops are school drop outs with minimal mental ability make good judgement in simple situations.
This is exactly what happens when you recruit DPP cadets in the Malawi police force. What do you expect from the uneducated Mulahko Wa Alomwe cadets masquerading as police officers within the MPS.
Kuteroko amafuna kuti atsikanawo awapange offer thako basi…………what a shame.