Regime thugs attack Catholic nuns in Lilongwe

Thugs who were some seen in ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) clothes attacked a group of Catholic nuns who were on their way to Likuni from Mlale in Lilongwe where they had gone to attend a function.

Deputy national police spokesperson Thomeck Nyaude  said he needed to check the details on the incident, but said police  will investigate the matter.

The DPP youth cadets who were coming from welcoming President Peter Mutharika at Kamuzu International Airport, descended on a minibus belonging to the Catholic Church’s Msamba Parish, which was carrying the unsuspecting nuns.

“The bus driver sustained injuries after the thugs used sticks to attack the Catholic faithfuls while the rear window was also smashed,” said an eye witness who did not want to be identified for fear of  being terrorized by the regime thugs.

The attack is the DPPs first recorded violent attack on the Catholic Church since the party attacked the Church’s leader Pope Francis, a few weeks ago.

In the attack, DPPs deputy director of youth Hophmally Makande told a rally in Blantyre that President Peter Mutharika, 78  will not heed calls to reign in account of old age unless the Pontiff leads the way, saying he is older than Mutharika.

The party and Makande later issued an apology to the Church.

And speaking at a rally of United Transformation Movement (UTM) in Zomba on Saturday,  a renowned political orator George Saonda  of ‘sesa- sesa’ and ‘chotsa petulo-chotsa’, who has resigned from DPP to join UTM, claimed the ruling party has instructed him to be insulting Catholic priets.

Saonda, who claimed to be a relation of President Mutharika, said: “I have refused instructions from DPP that we should start publicly insulting Catholic clergy.”

But DPP spokesperson Nicholas Dausi has  dismissed that the party was responsible for the attacks of the Catholic nun.

“Everything should not be blames on DPP. Don’t rush to conclude that DPP is responsible for the attack,” he said,

He also denied Saoda claims, saying the allegations were baseless.

DPP is known for covering for its cadres as they continue to terrorizing people with opposing political views.

In the past six weeks alone, a suspect DPP petrol bomb squad petrol bombed two vehicles —one belonging to the UTM  and another to a UTM member, Mzimba North legislator Agnes Nyalonje—when the party went to launch its movement in the district a few weeks ago.

Last week, there was  an incident at the offices of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), one of the civil society organisations (CSOs) headquartered in Lilongwe, last week where five unknown thugs severely beat up a security guard before attempting to petrol-bomb the premises.

Beatings and arson to property of opponents is a prominent feature of the DPP rule since the party first came to power in 2004. Key attacks include the bombing of offices of Rafiq Hajat, the house of  acticist Reverend  Macdonald Sembereka,  the burning of  legislator Bon Kalindo’s car. The Zodiak Broadcasting Service (ZBS) also had it Landrover hijacked and burnt while several markets also went up in flames across the country under DPPs watch while  several individuals including chiefs have also been beaten by DPP cadres, most of them in full view of the police.

No single person has even been arrested or charged for any of the close to a dozens bombings and beatings by the suspected DPP cadres.

Human Rights Activist and executive director for Mzuzu-based Youth and Society (YAS), Charles Kajoloweka, who also recently received death threats, asaid  the attacks are motivated by desire to silence the administration’s critics.

The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN) have since condemned the violence.

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