Ntaba hails Joyce Banda as ‘law abiding’ politician
President Bingu wa Mutharika’s spokesman, Hetherwick Ntaba, has praised Malawi’s female vice president Joyce Banda as a law abiding politician.
Ntaba said the Vice President who also leads an opposition People’s Party postponed a scheduled rally in Dowa following a police directive while accusing a presidential aspirant for UDF, Atupele Muluzi for “disobeying the law” by going ahead to address a political rally even after Police had stopped it.
The Presidential spokesman in an interview with Voice of America (VOA) on Wednesday praised the Vice President for obeying the law.
- Joyce Banda: Respects the rule of law
“She did postpone that meeting because it was the police asking her to do that and no problems occurred there. It is the norm and she obeyed the law,” said Ntaba.
“Any law abiding [citizen], if police give you some advice on the security aspect of what you want to do, you listen, and you obey. If you don’t agree with what they are saying, then you go to court for the court to overrule what the police are telling you. But, you just don’t go ahead taking the law into your hands and do what you want,” said Ntaba.
Banda is a wife to former Malawi and Swaziland Chief Justice Richard Banda.
Ironically, critics blame President Mutharika for not respecting the rule of law.
Ntaba also rejected accusations by opposition groups and civil society organisations that the government is silencing dissent by arresting opponents on trumped up charges.
He also said recent demands that Mutharika step down following a two-day religious meeting “are all made up by the media.”
“The board of the Public Affairs Committee [PAC] has not given any formal resolution to the president. It’s only the media writing what they think are the resolutions from PAC,” said Ntaba.
