Mtambo’s house petrol-bombed: Malawi terror attack on activists

A group of unknown thugs have petrol-bombed the house of  house of Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) Chairperson Timothy Mtambo in Lilongwe.

HRDC has since suspected that the group  belong to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) youth cadets.

Vice chairperson for HRDC, Gift Trapence, told Nyasa Times that incident  occurred during the wee hours of Thursday  August  15 2019 .

Sketchy details reveal that the intention of the thugs was to completely burn down the whole house of Mtambo but their mission did not work out.

However, Nyasa Times can confirm that one of Mtambo’s vehicles was set ablaze during the mission while another petrol bomb was thrown outside the main gate aiming at blocking Mtambo and his family from evacuating.

The vocal human rights activist and his family members are however reported to have escaped the attack unharmed.

Mtambo has been in the forefront organising demonstrations to force Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah to resign for allegedly messing  up the May 21 2019 elections whose results are currently being disputed in court.

The HRDC chairperson has been a target for threats for his relentless action alongside other activists in fighting against human rights abuse and ensuring that the Malawi government is working in an accountable and transparent manner.

In August, 2018 thugs again petrol bombed HRDC offices in Lilongwe leaving a security guard severely injured.

Mtambo is also executive director of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and vice chairperson of southern African Human Rights Defenders Network.