Police come under fire in dealing with violence
Malawi Police Service have come under fire from human rights groups in the way they handle violence after the law enforcers killed one person and wounded five others mainly children in Nsanje.
Human rights lawyer Justin Dzonzi has blamed the police for heavy handedness in the way they wanted to deal with violence in Nsanje over the weekend after a mob wanted a theft suspect released to them.
“The police used excess force to quell the violence. Under the legal frameworks, the police are not supposed to use excess force,” said Dzonzi.
The police shot one person dead and injured half a dozen others mainly aged between 11 to 17.
Dzonzi asked the police to be professional when dealing with crowd control.
The crowd stoned a police station and vandalized some public property including houses of police officers at Nsanje police station.
Dzonzi also blamed people for taking the law into their own hands, saying this shows that people have no trust on the law enforcers.
Agnes Dzalakoma, police public relations officer said the law enforcers have arrested three people who were ring leaders of the angry mob and have since been charged with malicious damage.
She said the mob wanted a theft suspect released to them so that they could administer mob justice to him.
Police ku Malawi ilibe ntchito.. koma asilikali anthu ankhondo zanyanya izi lowerelanipo chonde mwina mtendere kubwera akaingo awa ntchito yawakulila ma albino sakupeza mtendere mdziko muno, anthu kuberedwa, kumenyedwa zoona cadet apose security organs mdziko, timvereni chisoni kuma Barracks uko pliz ndife abale anu Malawi akuwawa uyu tithandizeni.
The public was on the wrong in this partucular case. If the suspect was arrested, all they were supposed to do was to wait for justice to reign on the matter. Mob is not the right way to handle suspects.
PA zipolowe sagawa sweet. Police inakulakwira chani anawapatsa Munthu kumupha ukanati police olive chitetezo. Mawa azaopa wina Kudabwa sazapita ku station for mob justice
Dzonzi, you need to sensitise the public not to attack security institutions and think they can get away with it – the police use the equipment they were issued. Moreover, they did not go into people’s homes to shoot them.