Mpasu, Kamlepo condemn State spies: ‘Malawi no longer a dictatorship’
News that the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) presented to President Peter Mutharika a report that implicated leader of opposition, Dr. Lazarus Chakwera and other opposition figures in a plot to bring down government through unconstitutional means has received sharp reprimand and wide range condemnation from political commentators and the general public.
Speaking on Capital Radio, former Speaker of National Assembly and seasoned politician, Sam Mpasu trashed the NIB report as a threat to democracy and the rule of law.
“In a democracy, we do not need spies who are political police for government critics,” said Mpasu.
“NIB should not be used for political purposes to victimize perceived political opponents. NIB should be concerned with the security of the country, which is deteriorating by the day,” added Mpasu.
Mpasu said Malawians cannot afford to return to dictatorship days and that Malawians shall always to continue to fight for freedom and democracy.
“I do not see Malawians sitting back while looking at their country receding back to dictatorship. The DPP government must be aware of this and strive to stay the democratic course,” he said.
Mpasu said instead of fighting perceived political adversaries, the DPP government to find solutions to the social, economic and governance problems besetting this country.
Hot-shot legislator, Kamlepo Kalua has also said suppressing opponents “is not doing national duties”.
He called on government to desist from the path it is taking as it has the potential to inflame the already volatile situation in the country.
Kalua urged government to focus on real issues than wasting taxpayers’ money on out-of-date politics.
A Lilongwe-based social, economic and political commentator, Hastings Kandojesaid the NIB report is one of the lowest moments that have come to characterize the performance of the DPP government in recent times.
Said Kandoje: “We understand that the NIB or [Nicholas] Dausi is under pressure to create an impression that he is doing something. The president has come under intense pressure to correct the political, social and economic landscape and this is one way of diverting people’s attention from the mess”.
He told Nyasa Times in an interview on Friday that government wants to take-off the pressure from itself and divert people’s attention from the daily distresses that have visited upon ordinary Malawians.
“But to resort to slandering and victimizing political opponents is simply shocking and sad,” he said.
The report also implicated other politicians such as Brown Mpinganjira, Joseph Chikwemba of People’s Party (PP), civil society member Reverend MacDonald Sembereka and health rights campaigners Martha Kwataine and Mrs. Dorothy Ngoma, among others.
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