PAC Slams Police and Army Over Silence on Panga-Wielding Thugs: “Barbaric, Shameful, Unconstitutional”

The influential quasi-religious watchdog, Public Affairs Committee (PAC), has come out swinging, accusing both the Malawi Police Service (MPS) and Malawi Defence Force (MDF) of complicity and cowardice after they failed to stop violent pro-government thugs who attacked peaceful demonstrators in Lilongwe earlier today.

In a strongly worded statement co-signed by PAC Chairperson Monsignor Patrick Thawale and spokesperson Bishop Gilford Matonga, the revered body described the brutal attacks as “barbaric” and a shameful regression into the dark days of state-sponsored terror.

“What we witnessed today flies in the face of everything our democracy stands for,” reads the statement. “Even worse, the Malawi Defence Force silently watched the violence unfold—a chilling symbol of negligence and moral collapse.”

PAC reminded the nation that police had previously committed to safeguarding demonstrators during the 6th All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference. “Their failure to uphold this pledge only compounds the growing mistrust in our enforcement agencies,” the statement adds.

The committee warned that even if the demonstrations were organized by opposition forces, that does not grant the ruling regime a license to crush them. “A truly democratic government does not fear dissent—it protects the right to express it,” PAC declared.

The silence of the security forces, PAC emphasized, is not neutrality—it is complicity.

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