MCP Blasts ‘Political Persecution’ as Arrests of Top Cadres Spark Outrage
The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has launched a fierce attack on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government, accusing it of weaponising State institutions to silence political opponents and threatening to escalate the matter to the donor community and multilateral partners.
The former ruling party says a spate of arrests targeting its senior cadres since Friday last week amounts to political persecution, not the pursuit of justice.
Addressing a charged press conference on Monday, MCP Director of Campaign Moses Kunkuyu, flanked by senior party officials, described the arrests as blatantly politically motivated, warning that they are eroding constitutionalism and dragging the country down a dangerous path.
“This is a clear deviation from established legal processes and constitutional guarantees,” Kunkuyu said. “It undermines public confidence in law enforcement and strikes at the heart of democratic integrity.”
He warned that the arrests are fuelling political uncertainty at a time when Malawians are grappling with deepening economic pain.
“Instead of addressing the real suffering of Malawians—punishing taxes, a declared national disaster, soaring prices of food and fuel, and acute foreign exchange shortages—the government is fixated on hunting down political opponents,” Kunkuyu said.
He described the timing of the arrests as reckless and tone-deaf, arguing that Malawi should be focused on nation-building, not settling political scores.
“This is not the time for intimidation and political vendettas,” he said. “It is a time for leadership, solutions and relief for struggling citizens.”
The MCP said it supports accountability and the rule of law, but only when applied fairly, transparently and on the basis of evidence, not selectively to criminalise opposition figures.
The party warned that continued selective enforcement of the law risks collapsing trust in State institutions and turning law enforcement agencies into tools of partisan warfare.
“We call for the immediate cessation of politically motivated arrests, strict adherence to due process, transparency in the administration of justice, and the complete depoliticisation of law enforcement agencies,” Kunkuyu said.
He added that failure to reverse the trend will leave MCP with no option but to alert development partners and international stakeholders, a move that could further strain the country’s already fragile relations with donors.
The statement marks one of MCP’s strongest condemnations yet, signalling rising political temperatures and growing concern over the shrinking space for democratic dissent in Malawi.
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