Chisale threatens to ‘whip’ opposition figures in extraordinary outburst

Malawi’s deputy minister for security, who also serves as President Peter Mutharika’s personal bodyguard and is widely regarded as the governing DPP’s chief enforcer, has drawn condemnation after threatening to have opposition activists physically punished.

Norman Chisale, an MP who holds the unusual dual role of deputy security minister and the president’s close protection officer, told a public gathering that ordinary Malawians, not opposition parties, were the true beneficiaries of government.

He then appealed to traditional chiefs for their blessing to discipline members of the opposition UTM party, whom he accused of touring the country to stir unrest.

“UTM, please be careful… this behaviour of moving from place to place, we are about to start whipping people,” Mr Chisale said.

“Chiefs, give me your blessing, I am about to start whipping them… do not say I am doing this because I am in government,” he added.

The comments have alarmed critics, who say a threat of corporal punishment carries particular weight coming from a figure who combines a security portfolio with the president’s personal protection detail and enforcer status within the ruling party.

Allies of Mr Chisale have dismissed the remarks as rhetorical bluster rather than a literal threat.

The outburst came shortly after senior UTM figures Dalitso Kabambe and Matthews Mtumbuka held talks in Kasungu with President Lazarus Chakwera, leader of the opposition Malawi Congress Party — a meeting seen by observers as a striking gesture of political engagement ahead of the next general election, and one that appears to have unsettled figures within the governing camp.

Neither the government nor Mr Chisale’s office has issued a formal clarification of the remarks.