Malawi Police sexually abuse Nsundwe women

October 17, 2019 Alfred Chauwa -Nyasa Times 55 Comments

Scores of women and girls  around Msundwe, M’bwatalika and Mpingu Trading Centres in Lilongwe have reported being sexually abused by the Malawi Police officers ,  Nyasa Times has learn.

Victims of rape

The NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN) has also said it is  deeply disheartened by allegations of rape, defilement and torture of innocent women and girls in the hands of the law enforcers.

Some women who spoke about the ordeal said they have been condemned to further horrendous abuse by police officers and were  forced to succumb to rape in order to avoid torture.

Jane Yankho (not her real name), 15, said: “I was raped and I also witnessed  horrible sexual exploitation on some women by the police officers.”

In a statement made available to Nyasa Times by NGO Gender Coordination Network and signed by its Chairperson Babra Banda,  condemns the sexual exploitation of women and girls by police.

The statement follows stories involving illegal mounting of roadblocks by some demonstrating residents of Mpingu and  Msundwe on October 8, 2019, and the eventual deployment of police officers to quell the situation,  which led to the  killing of one police officer, Superintendent Usumani Imedi.

While the Organisation is condemning the killing of the officer they are also urging the authorities to trace, apprehend and prosecute all those that participated in the killing of the police officer.

The Network is disturbed with reports that some of the police officers as dispatched to the areas on Wednesday, October  9, 2019, raped women, defiled self-boarding girl students, tortured people, and looted private  property.

The allegations were leveled against the Malawi Police through various interviews.

The first interviewee (name withheld), explained that five police officers invaded her house  about 300 metres away from Mpingu Trading Centre. The officers kicked the door of the  house open and threw teargas in the house where she was then hiding with her children.

They ordered her to go and confine herself into her bedroom. While the family members choked, the officers forced her daughter (name withheld), to take off her clothes at the sitting room.

“I took off my clothes in front of the officer, leaving out an underwear only. He then started beating me for refusing to take off my underwear. I have been bedridden for five days nursing the pain and I  don’t even know whether I am okay internally as I have not gone for medical check-up,” she stated.

From there, these officers invaded a neighbouring house, where three female self-boarders from Mpingu Community Day Secondary School stay, and had been noticed to have ran into  the house to hide. Three of the officers went into the house while the fourth one walked around the door, warning all neighbours to stay in their houses.

The fifth police officer, who  was female, at this time retreated to a stationary police vehicle. The three officers who had  entered the house ordered all the three girls to take off all their clothes, including underwear.The girls complied and two of the girls were told to leave the house upon noticing that they  were having their menstruation period.

The third girl, (name withheld) was ordered to follow  the officers to the bedroom. One of the officers forced himself onto the girl. At this point,  the 16-year-old was crying incessantly attracting the attention of the neighbors who were able to hear the girl say “mundipweteka, mundipweteka chonde.”

Upon their leaving, the girl run out of the house and went missing for two days. Her parents narrated that the girl has yet to return to her normal mind, since the incident.

Another team of police officers invaded Mvuu Village in Traditional Authority M’bwatalika where they stripped a newly-wedded woman, (name withheld) naked. They fondled her private parts. And from her submissions, it was evident that she was raped. Even her mood during the interview could tell a story of a traumatised woman.

She struggled to finish her sentences during the interview. “Anandivula mwankhanza ndi kuchita zawozo. Ine ndinangoti basi nanga n’kutani poti ifeyo tilibe mphamvu,” she said.

The officers are alleged to have thrown teargas in every direction, including shops and  residential compounds and houses. It is also alleged that they raided and looted shops (Farmers World is a classic example) and pubs.

“The foregoing, stands at odds with the noble mandate and values, associated with the character of a police service. The Malawi Police Service and all other state institutions and actors, are by  principle, the principal duty bearer. While we still have so much hope that there may be far more noble police officers nationwide, the incidents at Nsudwe and surrounding areas further erode trust and respect which we believe the police service deserves,” the Network said in the statement

The organisation has  demand  President Peter Mutharika to  ensure the Police initiates thorough investigations and punish all culprits.

“ No one is above the law and the rule of law must be respected,” it stated.

Malawi Human Rights Commission has also been persuaded to  conduct independent investigations into the allegations forthwith.

National Police spokesman James Kadadzera said the law enforcers  are “monitoring what is unfolding on the social media where a woman is testifying on how he was raped by the Malawi Police officers.”

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55 replies on “Malawi Police sexually abuse Nsundwe women”

  2. Ndiye kuona ambiri amafa ndi edzi. Koma vuto apweteka ana a eni ndi matenda awowo.

  4. But how on earth can the Malawi police be trusted to investigate itself? This is the same police that can not arrest the DPP henchmen who attacked innocent protesters in BT and hacked a Mr Mayaya almost to death despite the fact that the attack took place in the presence of some police officers and the social media is awash with videos of the attack…..but Surprisingly the same police were quick in arresting people in msundwe even without evidence just because msundwe is deemed as an opposition area.

    How can a such unprofessional police be allowed to investigate rape cases they themselves have committed? Rape cases are very sensitive, and the victims need to be handled with care due to the trauma they have suffered at the hands of the very same police that is supposed to protect them from such a heinous crime…..please do not allow any police officer to go anywhere near these sexually molested victims becoz every time they see a police officer they will be reliving the the whole attack.

    We need an independent body to investigate these rape cases if we truly believe in justice.

    The killing of a police officer in msundwe was wrong and the police were supposed to conduct a professional investigation to arrest the perpetrators and not arresting whole communities by using rape and torture as a weapon to extract information from ordinary people to catch the killers.

    This clearly shows that the Malawi police is untrained and of substandard to investigate such crimes. And it is no wonder that we have many unsolved high profile cases in Malawi than in any other democratic country in the world. We have the njauju murder case, the Robert chasowa murder case, the Mayaya hacking case, the mtambo shooting case just to mention a few, these cases and many more will never see the light of the day because we have a highly unprofessional police which is also highly politically compromised.

    Our police is so unprofessional because for the past 10 years we have been recruiting cadets as a reward for party royalty instead of recruiting people who deserve to be police officers……and this problem will take many years to undo because we do not have the right leadership in this country.

    The rule of law has been lost in our country, the fact that students in Thyolo can burn their school becoz they do not want students coming from other districts, the fact that two villages in Nkhatabay can fight each other with machetes living four people dead on issues that should have been dealt with by the police, the fact that people in msundwe can stone a police officer to death are just but a few clear indications of lawlessness in our country driven primarily by lack of political leadership, nepotism and tribalism. And if this situation is left unchecked for another few months well, I hate to say it but we are heading for civil war in this country.

    The time is now for the elders in this country to sit down and sort out this mess once and for all before it is too late. This mtchona currently living at the state house we all know his weaknesses and therefore can not and should not be expected to help solve this issue in fact he is part of the problem. The fact that he is encouraging Ms Ansah not to resign is a clear sign of lack of leadership all he is worried about is his presidency and not the plight of the country.

  5. Please we need to fear God and propagate love always. What the police did is appealing and sad to say it’s an act of terrorism! Make sure you pray before going to such missions. If you do not believe in God know that there is God who made you. Worship him day and night. Know that he sent his bellowed son Jesus to die for you! Should you believe in Jesus then you have eternal life. When you ask he is faithful to call you his own child. Make a decision to accept him today! Amen!

    1. Zabodza izi. Trying to decampaign the confirmation of Mwapasa. But also decampaigning our Police Services and Government of the day. Koma ndi inu Anthu OIPA ZEDI.

  6. As a nation we need to be serious sometimes. Police could not be known with nasty stories like these. Mwapasa at the helm awaiting confirmation should have done better.

  7. Malawi police most of them are not Educated and they don’t know why they are police! You will see them when they are out of unform that! They are savages.

  8. I do not believe in what being claimed. This is cooked stories in order to justify the brutality of MCP and Nundwe thugs. No one should listen to this rubbish. NGOs dealing with human rights are agents of descendants of slave traders and imperialists, possibly unwanted beings in the country.

  9. Ku chipatala ndikumene atola nkhani amapedza umboni wa rape sichoncho anyakwa?Mota anthuwo sadziwa zoti zikatero amapita ku chipatala

  10. Mabodza okhaokha awa tikufuna azipereke mwa mayi mmozi omwe wachitilidwa izi so that we can know kuti zoona?

  11. ITS VERY DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE ON SUCH A DAY HAD THE AUDACITY TO ERECT HIS PENIS AND RAPE WOMEN…

    WAS IT TEAR GAS THAT CAUSED THE ERECTION OR WHAT. OR WERE THE POLICE OFFICERS GIVEN GONDOLOSI BEFORE THEY WERE DEPLOYED AT NSUNDWE??/

    SOMEONE MUST ANSWER ALL THESE QUESTIONS. OTHERWISE THIS IS LIKE A POLITICAL GAME WHICH HAS BEEN PLAYED BY SOMEONE. NOW YOU ARE PUTTING THE LIVES OF POLICE OFFICERS IN DANGER. THEY ARE NO LONGER SAFE IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY ARE LIVING.

    1. This so-called Apostle Paul is an idiot. How dare you defend the police, who went on a rampage raping innocent women. This barbaric behaviour should never be condoned in Malawi and anywhere else in the world. What is Dausi saying about this? He must have instructed the police to rape innocent women. Malawians raise and defend your rights.

  13. Yes, kulikonse kumene kuli nkhondo kumachitika zambiri. Azimayi amachitidwa rape, kuba, kuphana mosadziwika, kuwotcherana manyumba etc. So inu achewa akwa Msundwe mudikilire zimenezi unless musiye zimene mukuchitazo. Akukugwiritsani ntchitowo iwo kwawo ku Karonga kulibe zimenezo.

  14. Akunama. No police officer dd this . The situation was tense and offices could not risk moyo wawo in that way. This is cooked still by mcp and Mtambo. Akuthaws milanduuuu. Bodzaaaa

  16. This means the Police have declared war against the citizens. At this point war should also be declared against the police. This force needs to fall!!!!

  17. This is what happens when a country is led by a useless leader like APM, the security minister is a clown like Dausi and the police has Mwapasa on charge. Chaos and lawlessness.

  18. This is just a cooked scapegoat for Nsundwe MCP followers to daint Malawi Police KKKKKoma zafikapo komadi kkk

  19. Thats why we say DPP has employed most CADETS into our Police Service. Muwona kuti muthana nayo bwanji Nsundwe. Also know that they are very good at mitengo tazitsamba

  20. Stupid thugs masquarading as Policemen. Honestly there is need for serious vetting for people ho are emplyed as policemen. There are some who one who juat at the first grance that they are thieves of the highest order.

  21. Pa malawi mabodza too much & this is perpetuated by the fact that most Malawians are so gullible they believe everything without questioning & using some critical thinking-this is why we are taken advantage of by politicians & unscrupulous journalists & social media wannabes.

    1. True, bodza lokhalokha, if it was true, a big story like this why is it not in mainstream media? Just trying to divert people’s attention from the real criminals living in Nsundwe

  22. Woza Malawi Police!!! Anakushoshani mwawaonetsa kuti ndinu amuna obereka. Msirikari amatota!! Kkkkk

  24. That is why our police is the enemy of people. Who can tolerate a police that sexually abuses female children, girls and women?

    3. Achimwene, muzimvere chisoni ngatidi ndinu munthu. you mean this independent NGO can go around to fabricate stories. Let us leave hatred aside and show remorse for the brutality by the MPS.

  28. So those stupids police officers are on for flats breaking the RAWS okay tikudikilani makwalalamu tithane apo simumabisara ku seri Kwa malamuro

  29. With such developments taking place, we should not expect public hostility to end very soon. It is going worsen. The men who are related to these abused women have become blood thirst. I can assure you, they will not relent until more police blood is spilled. I feel so sorry because day in and day out, the situation in Malawi is becoming more and more out of control. By the time, our leaders and authorities realise that it is too late; we will have reached a tipping point. Abale chitanipo kanthu…

    1. My brother. Seodi White can’t cry. She is happy in fact so long she is there eating taxes with her blue men

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