Malawi to establish independent complaints commission

Government says establishment of an independent police complaints commission will bring confidence to people who feel their cases would be handled unfairly by the police.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Public  Security Often Thyolani said this in Zomba on Tuesday during a consultative meeting with various stakeholders on the establishment of the commission.

He said the police complaints commission will be an independent body which will be making its decisions on people’s complaints independently.

“We are all aware that the police handle complaints against fellow police officers. But there is dissatisfaction with the way these complaints are sometimes handled. Therefore, the [police complaints] commission will be responsible for handling appeals from people who
feel that their complaints were treated unfairly,” he said.

Thyolani added that as part of its role in securing and maintaining public confidence in the complaints system, the commission will be learning from its work to influence change on policing, ensure accountability, best practices and customer service, and dealing with serious complaints and misconduct of police officers.

In his remarks, Inspector General (IG) of Police Lottie Dzonzi said the Malawi Police Service has a constitutional mandate to protect public safety and the rights of people in accordance with the law.

“Police officers are warranted with powers that can strip citizens of their liberty, privacy, their property and in extreme cases their lives. It is inevitable that as the police exercise its powers, disputes and conflicts will arise between it and the citizenry. This will in turn lead to complaints against the police; hence the establishment of this independent complaints commission to resolve such cases without bias,” said Dzonzi.