Parliament Slaps Police Over ‘Unlawful’ Arrest of Kunkuyu, Exposes Deepening Crisis of Lawlessness

Malawi’s Parliament has issued a stinging rebuke to the Malawi Police Service (MPS), demanding the immediate release of Dedza Mlunduni Member of Parliament and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) national campaign director Moses Kunkuyu, in a move that lays bare what critics say is a growing pattern of political policing and constitutional contempt.

In a formal letter dated January 19, 2026, addressed to Inspector General of Police, Parliament has reminded the police that Kunkuyu is constitutionally immune from arrest, describing his detention as a direct violation of Section 60(1) of the Constitution.

Kunkuyu, who served as Minister of Information and Digitalisation under former president Lazarus Chakwera, voluntarily surrendered himself to National Police Headquarters in Lilongwe on Monday after learning that police were hunting for him. Despite his cooperation, police arrested and charged him with allegedly inciting violence during the funeral of former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Madaitso Kazombo.

However, Parliament says the arrest is illegal, disruptive, and constitutionally indefensible.

In the letter seen by this publication, Clerk of Parliament Fiona Kalemba informed the police that Kunkuyu is an active member of the Parliamentary Committee on International Relations, which is currently sitting, and that his arrest directly interferes with the functioning of the National Assembly.

Kalemba cited Section 60(1) of the Constitution, which clearly provides that “the Speaker, every Deputy Speaker, and every member of the National Assembly shall, except in cases of treason, be privileged from arrest while going to, returning from or while in the precincts of the National Assembly.”

She warned the police that continued detention of Kunkuyu amounts to an unconstitutional obstruction of Parliament’s work.

“In compliance with section 60(1) of the Constitution and as part of the performance of his parliamentary duties, it is imperative that Hon. Kunkuyu’s attendance of the scheduled committee meetings remains unimpeded and that further disruption of the operations of the National Assembly is avoided,” Kalemba wrote.

In a pointed closing, she added:

“We trust that the above information has offered the necessary guidance and will enable you to come to an appropriate decision in the matter.”

Behind the diplomatic language lies a blunt message: the police have overreached, and Parliament is not amused.

Kunkuyu’s lawyer, George Jivason Kadzipatike, was even more direct, warning that the police are testing the very foundations of constitutional governance.

“We expect that Hon. Kunkuyu will be released by the police today. Otherwise, we shall conclude that the country is no longer governed in accordance with the law,” Kadzipatike said.

The charge itself has also raised serious questions. In a widely circulated video clip from Kazombo’s funeral, Kunkuyu does not issue direct threats or calls for violence. Instead, he speaks in parables, likening the arrest of MCP Secretary General Richard Chimwendo Banda to the social isolation of someone wrongly accused of having leprosy.

Kunkuyu warned that MCP leaders and supporters would mobilise at the party headquarters after the burial to demand the release of those they believe are being unfairly targeted — a statement his supporters argue is political mobilisation, not incitement.

Legal observers say the case exposes a troubling trend: selective enforcement of the law, where opposition figures are swiftly arrested while constitutional safeguards are treated as optional.

More damning is the fact that Kunkuyu did not flee, did not resist, and did not defy the law — he walked into police headquarters on his own. Yet the police chose to arrest him anyway, even as Parliament sat and the Constitution stood in plain sight.

As pressure mounts, the question now confronting the Malawi Police Service is stark and unavoidable: Will it obey the Constitution, or double down on an arrest Parliament itself says is unlawful?

For many Malawians, the answer will signal whether the rule of law still governs the country — or whether the police have become a blunt instrument in an increasingly politicised justice system.

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