Malawi Police vow not to give in to minibus drivers, conductor ahead of Lilongwe protest

Malawi Police have vowed never to give in to minibus drivers and conductors to ease road traffic offence punishments, saying the law enforcers have a mission to eradicate the increasing accidents on the roads.

The police comments on the issue come as minibus drivers and conductors intend to stage protests in the Capital City, Lilongwe on Tuesday which is likely to cripple transport services for workers to and from work.

Deputy regional traffic officer for the south Alex Zimba said the police priority is to deal with a spate of accidents which are claiming dozens of lives.

“We are working with other stakeholders to ensure that our roads are free of accidents. We are working closely with the Road Traffic Directorate,” he said.

Blantyre experienced violent protests on Friday which saw three police units torched before the law enforcers calmed the situation.

The minibus drivers and conductors are protesting against the government decision to impose higher punitive fees for traffic offences which is up to K20000 or five years imprisonment with hard labour.

The offences include drink and drive and overloading.

Meanwhile, a court in Blantyre has slapped five men with a K150000 fine each for drink and drive.

The magistrate said drink and drive is one of the causes of the current spate of accidents which has shocked the nation.

They were told if they failed to pay the fine, they would be jailed for a year. President Peter Mutharika on Saturday announced the government has formed a committee with members from ministry of Transport and Public Works and ministry of Justice to look into the spate of the road carnage.