Parliamentary committee probe claims of MCP training militia at Malawi police school

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is suspected to be using part of the K6.2 billion and K17 billion of Covid money to train 162 party militias as its paramilitary wing with a view to bring back repressive regime.

The purported investigative report, currently trending on various social media platforms, alleges that the first cohort entered the training school on 7 March 2021 and underwent a six training on how to use firearms. The second cohort started training on 4 April.

“The report seeks to share with Malawians, whose tax is being wasted by the Chakwera-led government in training of MCP youths as militias (Special Police), for this is against the laws of Malawi and poses security threat to the neighboring countries, donor communities, the intelligence agency, Malawi Army, Malawi Police and the citizens at large,” it says.

The unidentified authors of the report claim that they have been carrying an enquiry since MCP started hatching the plan of training its youths in December 2020 in Mangochi as Special Police at Chikoko Bay where the MCP inner circle met President Chakwera.

They say their investigations continued on 7^th March, 2021, when a group of 72 MCP youths entered Ntakataka PTS.

“Their phones were confiscated upon arrival at the police base and they were given back to them on the day they were returning home. The group of 72 civilians included the famous and notorious youths from Msundwe in Lilongwe, celebrated as Msundwe Barracks who were at the forefront of horrible demonstrations which took Place in Malawi in 2020, as the nation was waiting for court ruling on re-elections and calling for the resignation of the then Electoral Commission chairperson Dr. Justice Jane Ansah,” it says, adding that Special Forces could pose a serious threat to national security, citizens, donor community and regional bodies.

MCP Director of Youth and Minister of Homeland Security, Richard Chimwendo Banda, confirmed to have seen the report. However, the minister clarified that the alleged militia youths are employees of the State House.

“They are undergoing normal training. As you are aware, when DPP was in power, they had their own team at the State House. And when the Tonse Alliance came in, a new team was hired albeit without any experience in security issues; hence, we are training them in basic security protocols,” said Chimwendo Banda.

This is not the first time an allegation is being levelled against MCP – which is the main partner in the Tonse Alliance-led government.

In his contribution to the Mid-Year Budget Review in the National Assembly, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member of Parliament for Mulanje South, George Chaponda, had also made similar allegations.

Chaponda said MCP had devised a number of strategies to revert the country back to the one-party state and that recruitment of the party’s youth into government security agencies is one of them.

“These are not wild allegations. Go to Mtakataka Police Training School today; you will see several of the MCP youths training there. And if we are not careful, as a country, we will soon find ourselves back to those days when Malawi was under one-party system,” he told journalists outside parliament.

Chimwendo Banda following the allegation, he requested the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security to visit Ntakataka Police Training School to have firsthand information about the type of training taking place there.

Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security, Jappie Mhango, confirmed visiting Ntakataka Police Training School on Saturday in view of the allegation Chaponda made in parliament.

However, Mhango refused to disclose the findings of their tour to the school.

“I can confirm that we indeed visited the facilitybut for the details, we shall share after reporting back to Parliament,” said Mhango in a brief interview on Sunday.

Chimwendo Banda reiterated that MCP does not have any intention of recruiting and training a paramilitary wing.