‘Political witch hunt’: Mtambo, Trapence and Sembereka rush to court to block arrest warrants

Three former leaders of Malawi’s Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) have launched a dramatic court move to stop their arrest, claiming police are pursuing them over a case that was thrown out more than six years ago.

Former HRDC chairperson Timothy Mtambo, alongside activists Gift Trapence and McDonald Sembereka, has asked the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe to cancel arrest warrants issued earlier this month.

The trio were arrested in March 2020 over allegations that they threatened to march to State House during a period of heightened political tension.

But their lawyer, Khwima Mchizi, insists the case was formally discontinued by the State in October 2020, making the latest warrants unlawful.

Speaking after filing an application to have the warrants quashed, Mchizi said his clients were “shocked” to learn that warrants had been issued on the basis that they had failed to comply with bail conditions attached to the old case.

“The basis of the warrant is that they have not been honouring the bail conditions that were attached to their case in 2020,” he said.

“My clients are shocked because that case was dismissed from court. So the issue of bail cannot arise where a case has been discontinued.”

Mchizi said the matter has been scheduled for hearing on Friday and expressed confidence that the court would rectify what he described as an error.

“We hope the court will correct the mistake because it’s the same court that discharged my clients in 2020,” he said.

The lawyer further claimed the warrants were issued when his clients were not even within Lilongwe’s jurisdiction and accused authorities of targeting family members in an effort to secure arrests.

In a strongly worded attack, Mchizi described the development as politically motivated.

“It’s a political witch hunt. The State is so desperate that it’s telling lies about bail on a case that was discontinued,” he alleged.

The claims are likely to ignite fresh debate over the treatment of prominent activists who played a key role in the anti-government demonstrations that reshaped Malawi’s political landscape in 2019 and 2020.

However, Malawi Police Service spokesperson Gladys Chiwaula said she was unaware of both the arrest warrants and the court application seeking to stop them.

The case is now set for a legal showdown on Friday, when the court will determine whether the warrants should stand or be cancelled.