Chilima security staff obtain court order against Malawi Police
Some 40 police officers who were summoned to appear before a Malawi Police Services disciplinary hearing on Wednesday have obtained an injunction stopping Inspector General of Police Rodney Jose from proceeding with disciplinary action against them.
The 40 officers are part of the security detail for Vice-President Saulos Chilima.
They have been manning Chilima’s two official residences and accompany his motorcade but were transferred, from the Office of the VP to Police Mobile Service (PMS) ‘A’ Division, 21 to ‘C’ Division, one to Kanengo, two to Kawale, one to Lingadzi and two from Mudi Residence to PMS ‘B’ Division.
However, the officers did not report to their new police formations after Chilima —whom President Peter Mutharika picked as running mate from the private sector in January 2014 where he served as Airtel Malawi managing director—obtained an order from High Court stopping the Malawi Police Service (MPS) from tampering with his security detail.
The police officer through private practising lawyer Bright Theu have also obtained an order and sought a judicial review on the decision to discipline them.
Human rights activist and Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) executive director Gift Trapence said the transfers are ill-timed and leave a lot to be desired.
He described the move as a reflection of anger with the twist in political allegiance of the VP who broke ranks with the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on June 6 2018 and is set to challenge his boss, President Peter Mutharika, in the presidential race in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections through the newly formed UTM party.
Trapence said it is in the public discourse that the transfers amount to political witch-hunt and that it is not imperative to compromise the security detail of the VP.
Chilima, 45, left the DPP, after accusing it of condoning corruption and nepotism.
National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera declined to comment, saying the matter is in court.
The order granted by Justice Healey Potani states that until an inter partes hearing takes place, the security detail should continue with their job at the Veep’s office.
The court warns that if the Inspector General of Police, Rodney Jose, any officer or employee fails to obey the order, they will be guilty of contempt of court and may be charged or sent to prison.
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His Excellency Prof. Maliseche Ziboda is really too old. Seriously, in the mess that Malawi is now, we need a very energetic visionary and decisive leader. One of zinthu zomwe we don’t have control of is time. Tiyeni tivomereze kuti His Excellency Prof. Maliseche Ziboda has done his part and walema tsopano. It’s time for younger ones
Let Dausi and Mchacha pee in their pants,
They think they own us Malawians as their personal Estate,
Fuck their dead heads, foolishness begins with these water heads.
Wait 21st May is just around the corner, let’s see who is the last man standing.
But can’t vote for Gogos, I need to look after Gogos and not employing them at their 80’s.
Awa ndi malodza.
These Officers are just being used as pawns in a chess game of politics. They are caught between a rock and a hard place. They are DOOMED if they comply with the court orders and Chilima’s court challenge and equally DOOMED if they do not kowtow to the demands and desires of their employer Mutharika to dump their stations. They can only stay in and hope Chilima wins the elections to retain them as security details or they can hit back with a putsch or military coup like we have seen in Zimbabwe and Gabon and overthrow a political leadership… Read more »
Once again… A whole Yale professor doing this…. What a buffoon
Let work if transfer yes but immediately replace them do not disturb his security for bad reasons
Chiboda wavuta hahaha, OLD AGE at its best
I am not UTM supporter, but i can see clearly UTM taking government next year. Dpp instead of campainging youre busy pin pointing UTM, that is what is attracting masses to UTM for sympathy. Fuck Dpp
i can foresee trouble for the officers especially after this years elections especially if the current regime wins elections. they will be transfred to very remote areas as the retired vp will not be able to accommodate them and he will have no power that he has now as the sitting vp.
pliz dont involve public servants into politics and asiyeni agwire mwa luso lawo. musawaphwetekese anawa chonde ali ndi mabanja ndi abale amawadalila
So those of us working in the remote areas do not have ma banja and ana omwe amatidalira?
Kodi mkwiyo umenewu udzatha liti a DPP? Muphulika nazotu izi kumbukirani kanyama kaja kotchedwa Cardiac arrest….sikachedwa kulowapotu!
REVOLUTION /CHANGE IS INEVITABLE TO MALAWI —ENOUGH IS ENOUGH !!