Malawi police hunt for DPP governor over violence: Mzomera says ‘self-isolating’
Armed officers from Malawi Police Services raided the house of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regional governor (North) Christopher Mzomera Ngwira in an apparent attempt to apprehend him, but left empty-handed after not finding him.
Northern Region Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya confirmed the raid, saying the law enforcers want to arrest Ngwira over his alleged involvement in a 2016 political violence case.
“We have a warrant of arrest for him,” said Kalaya.
Kalaya said Police managed to speak to Ngwira on his mobile phone and he promised to hand himself but he remains at large.
When Nyasa Times contacted Ngwira on phone, he said he was in “self –isolation.”
Said Ngwira: “I am self-isolating due to the Covid-19 .”
He declined to say where he was.
But Ngwira said he will surrender himself to police, saying he is aware that they want him arrested on what he described as fallacious charges
Ngwira claimed the new government is on political repression campaign — creating a climate of fear and intimidation — mostly targeting the DPP.
According to police, Ngwira was the mastermind of the violence which DPP cadres caused when they disrupted a solidarity rally for the opposition parties at Chibavi Ground in Mzuzu on March 20 2016.
The 2016 rally was addressed by President Lazarus Chakwera representing Malawi Congress Party (when he was opposition leader), Alliance for Democracy leader Enoch Chihana, and then People’s Party third vice-president Kamlepo Kalua.
Last week, police in Mzuzu arrested DPP’s deputy director of operations Joe Nyirongo, popularly known as Big Joe, alongside George Mwamtobe, Lumbani Munthali and Thembisile Nkosi for the incident.
But when they appeared before senior resident magistrate Peter Kandulu, police prosecutor Betty Msowoya said they alleged that they got instructions from their leader.
Lawyer representing the four, Christon Ghambi, revealed that the said leader was Mzomera Ngwira.
Among others, the DPP cadres are accused of causing bodily grievance harm, unlawful assembly and proposing violence.
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