Mutharika blasts Malawi opposition over demo: ‘Stop manipulating people into violence, its evil’

President Peter Mutharika has taken a swipe at opposition leaders and rights activists for the continued violent demonstrations.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Friday during an agricultural function, Mutharika claimed the opposition in this country is capitalizing on the poverty of the people to manipulate them into behaviour of violence.

“Opposition leaders are deliberately creating poverty and suffering for Malawians so that the people become easy to manipulate.

“They want to destroy innocent people’s businesses and destroy the economy so that Malawians must be suffering,” said Mutharika.

Added the President, “this is inhuman. This is evil. It is inhuman and evil to take advantage of poor Malawians, to engineer violence and create more suffering for the people as we saw yesterday.”

The call came barely hours after the police in Lilongwe arrested 17 people for breaking shops and stoning police officers during demonstrations which were organized by HRDC forcing the law enforcers to act on Msundwe saga.

Then Mutharika switched to  Chichewa: ” AMalawi, musalole kunamizidwa ndi anthu andale amene akufuna kuti tiziononga chitukuko. Akufuna kuti chuma chadziko lino chisokonekere kuti inu muzivutika.

“Anthu amenewa akupita mmidzi kunamiza anthu kuti mulandu wachisankho awina kale. Akunama! Akufuna inu mudzayambe zoononga dzino mulandu ukawavuta. Ino ndinthawi yolima. Ino sinthawi ya mademo. Tiyeni tigwire ntchito molimbika kuti tisinthe moyo wathu.”

He said this is the time for us to work in our fields. This is not the time for demonstrations.

Earlier, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Kondwani Nankhumwa, who is also Leader of Government Business in Malawi Parliament, condemned acts of violence that have accompanied what were supposed to be ‘peaceful demonstrations’, saying such acts were derailing President Mutharika’s efforts to develop the country.

He cited various development projects that the President has championed, including a superb road network, but said all this is being destroyed by irresponsible citizens acting in the name of peaceful demonstrations.

“But I can assure Your Excellency that all this storm shall calm down and we shall prosper, as a nation, in the name of the almighty God,” he said.

Since May last year, the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP), UTM party and Human Rights Defenders (HRDC) led by Timothy Mtambo have been organizing series of demonstrations aimed at forcing Justice Dr. Jane Ansah and the entire Malawi Electoral Commission Commissioners to resign accusing them of failing to manage  May Tripartite Elections.

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