MEC plays down Chilima CCTV claims: Analysts say Malawi VP’s revelations ‘relevant’
Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has confirmed that there was indeed a break in at its offices in Lilongwe on Tuesday but denied claims by UTM Party presidential candidate Saulos Chilima that Closed- Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras were stolen by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) operatives.
MEC spokesman Sangwani Mwafulirwa, however, told Nyasa Times that no computers or cameras were stolen but the matter has been reported to police for further investigations.
He said the place was guarded by two police officer but they did not notice anything until MEC officials arrived for work in the morning.
Chilima, who is also the country’s Vice-President, speaking in northern district of Chitipa on a campaign whistle-stop charged: “It is DPP that have stolen the cameras from MEC. We are not surprised because it is the same DPP, led by Nicholous Dausi that set a MEC warehouse on fire in 2014. Let them sue me if they want to. We shall meet in court.”
Ironically, Chilima was in the governing DPP when on the night of July 15 2014, fire burnt the warehouse and destroyed some property, including ballot boxes scheduled for vote recount in a contested Lilongwe City South East parliamentary election.
Commenting on Chilima’s fire claims, MEC spokesman said the electoral body has never been furnished with a detailed report about the fire.
Governance commentators have backed Chilima for making the revelations, saying he was part of the DPP government before he broke ranks with President Peter Mutharika, as such he could not reveal incidences that were happening in the government he was serving.
Mzuzu-based political commentator Emily Mkamanga said Chilima’s revelation is still relevant because Malawians will be voting this month in tripartite elections.
“The revelation has come at the right time because we are going for elections,” said Mkamanga, adding “everybody is saying an evil deed of what others have done… this is important because people are going to know what exactly happened.”
University of Livingstonia political commentator George Phiri also said Chilima was spot on in making his revelations on the baring of the MEC warehouse and loss of CCTV equipment.
Phiri warned that Chilima is likely to make more startling revelations about ill in the DPP government “especially on corruption.”
DPP spokesperson Dausi dismissed Chilima’s assertion that the break in was the work of the ruling party, saying the vice president was merely doing political mudslinging.
Dausi also denied the veep allegation that he was behind the burning of MEC warehouse.
“We cannot be answering to everything what Chilima is saying, then it will not be a campaign. He (Chilima) has the right to speak what he wants. Let him continue,” said Dausi.
About 6.59 million voters are expected to vote this year, with over half of the eligible voters being youths and women.
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THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT PROFESSOR MUTHALIKA LOADED THE SENIOR POSITIONS AT BOTH MEC AND MALAWI POLICE SERVICE (MPS) WITH HOME BOYS WHO CANNOT BE TRUSTED, WHO ARE BEHAVING AS IF MPS AND MEC ARE PROPERTIES OF THE MUTHALIKA FAMILY.ALL IN ALL, WE NEED SERIOUSNESS FROM MPS AND MEC OTHERWISE THESE DIRTY TACTICS CAN CONTRIBUTE TO DENIAL OF ELECTRAL RESULTS AND EASILY SLIDE OUR PEACEFUL NATION INTO WAR.DPP MUST KNOW THAT THE OPPOSITION HAS STRONGER CHARACTERS IN THE NAME OF THE CHILIMAS, SIDIK MIAS.HAVE THE TWO POLICE OFFICERS WHO WERE ON DUTY BEEN SUSPENDED? WHY ONLY TWO POLICE OFFICERS INSTEAD OF FIVE TO TEN OFFICERS YOU HOME BOYS???????
DPP MUST FALL………………………
we are tired of their foolishness
Baba ngati mwakhala mukudziwa yemwe anaotcha warehouse zaka zonsezi koma osanena inunso mulinawo limodzi olakwawo. Palibe akufuna mtsogoleri ngati ameneyo mdziko muno.
Let analyse the situation here. Facts from the pictures: Burglar Bars bars broken, Glasses on window not broken, the plants outside the window not disturbed, all CCTV disconnected.
Conclusion: This is an inside job. Somebody was inside, switched off the CCTVs went outside to disconnect the CCTVs so that he /she cannot be seen. Went inside to break the burglar bars opened the window then STOLE the information he wanted to steal eg computers etc.
Do not forget the Police say they guard the Premises day and night. There was a collusion here between the police and who ever was stealing the information eg computers.
MEC wake up unless you are involved
Chilima’s rantings are just kicks of a dying horse….he knows he won’t win and want to find scapegoats to avoid shame for his pompous behavior…one thing he is forgetting is he is creating a very destabilized situation as we go towards the elections…this is not good at all… someone advise him …if he has evidence let him take it to police and the courts not causing unnecessary panic in people.
Arafat Hamdani-Chilima undoing himself in the run up to 21st May. Why engage with his biiig looouuuuud mouth in lies? Was he under the influence of ethanolic beverages? What point is he trying to prove by setting out to propagate blue lies from Chitipa?
Armed policemen were present and thieves broke in. Hmmmm. How can Mwafulierwa say nothing significant was take. Hmmmmm. People can walk into an office steal memory chips or motherboard of computers and re-assemble them just as if nothing has happened.
This is organized crime. They planned it well. Mr Chilima is right no matter how much you may bark out your lungs in fury! Mbala kudutsa mpheche peche mwa a police!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!bodza ili. You do not know for how many hours thieves were there.
Garu ,fisi,chintomboliza chilima,anakuuza ndani kuti upange kachipani kako ka GB ka
Unayamba wekha ndale nde ife Titani?fisi wamunthu chilima ,timkanena kut kutso
Malawians please look at the big picture on this mess. Thieves or thugs broke into MEC offices and just chit chat inside without doing anything! The big picture should be, the thugs went there to steal elections data from the computers and what makes me to feel sorry for the country is that even the police and security guards manning the offices couldnt notice anything peculiar. zooona izii, MEC tiuzeni zoona tathedwa nzeru ife.
Mwinonso ndi gulu lako lomwe la phwanya office. Paja nonse ndi okuba
Very surprise and sad that one could sit on such vital information for 5 years. He was part of the group that raped our justice system for too long. What else does he know? Please tell us more. But could this be the only cause for clinging to VP office? This man Chilima is a shame!!!
Man this circus never ends. VP now playing a hero on rigging revelations & concealing of evidence yet he used be or part of DPP team. MEC on the hand has audacity to say they haven’t finished a report now 5 years towards 21 May election. Malawians don’t be fooled again or we’ll be around this mountain again if we don’t learn from the past. Every one short be diligent to protect the votes that comes every 5 years! Irregularities can be avoided when teamwork is applied amongst the parties aiming credibility.
Njoka zowetedwa.
So analysts are saying he couldnt reveal what was happening coz he was part of government. So if he becomes president we should expect the same right? Coz it seems he hides what a ruling party does, so what more if it is his own party in charge. He will continue shielding people. Thats why the only corruption he is talking about is one after he left government but nothing to do with when he was in government like contracts given to Masangwi or Ngalande and his friends who are in DPP now.
I don’t understand the people so called analysts. They are supporting the suppression of justice to the shame. After all, looking at most of them they are UTM members. They simply want to say their boss Chilima is right… eeish Malawi.
MEC has confirmed the burglary and that it was only discovered in the morning.
1 . If it was only discovered in the morning it means the thieves were not disturbed at all and had all the time to do what they wanted.
2. Are we to believe that they went in and out at will just for the fun of breaking into MEC offices?
3. According to the pics on TV the glasses on the windows are not broken so how did the thieves open the window then cut the burglary bars without breaking the glass.?
4. This suggests someone left the window unlatched.
5. We gave more questions than answers.
iwe CHILIMA usatiputsitse mene zinthuzo zinkachitika ndikuti uli konko lero uziti anthuwa ndi akuba palibe wabwino pamenepo both chilima and dpp are crooks and thieves
MEC is another arm for the DPP. They’re operating in tandem.
The man has shot himself in the foot! His rantings are proof that the elections were rigged and he knew it all along. Who needs such a leader without integrity? In actual fact, he is holding an illegitimate office following the rigging!
All are thieves and Chilima must be pinned up to let all Malawians know what they did to get into the government.
Chilima’s revelations are useless – they are last kicks of a dying horse. He is creating reasons to claim he lost the election because there was cheating. Foolish man.
Stop this spin. The issue is that Chilima has admitted that DPP rigged elections in 2014.
And he is a Vice President as a result of that rigging.
And he has been hiding this information all along.
That he has been part and parcel of a criminal enterprise for past 5 years.
Please stop thinking that every reader is a fool. Both Chilima and Mutharika (the two vote riggers) must be voted out on 21st May.
Chilima’s campaign utterances have become madness… Saulosi has gone berserk, he knows he can’t win!
Amayesa nzocheza atawanamiza ma Bishop gulukunyindayu. Amayesa running government is a joke. Lero waidziwa Bangwe.
Law enforcers need to arrest Dausi while VP to give evidence of criminal acts of Dausi. The VP is a high ranking person, therefore revelations needs to be acted upon. Unless laws of the land have been put aside or suspended.
Paja anthuwa ndimchitidwe wawo otolatola,Chakachino ndiye zawavuta atchela kumwezi nkhanga zawona
agwa nayo basi.UTM BOMA
which law enforcers? Dausi is minister for police
This an appropriate official whistle-blower. Law enforcement agents take note. Principles witness is Saulos Chilima, period.
Do you need further evidence