Security scholar backs SKC pledge to end police road sides parade

One of the country’s leading security scholars Brigadier General Collins M. Chirwa has backed the decision by United Transformation Movement (UTM) leader Saulos Chilima suggestion to stop the culture of lining up police officers along the roads before the Head of State passes through, saying this is tantamount to excessive use of security.

Chilima, the country’s vice president, came out gun blazing on Sunday at a political rally in Ntcheu, promising to cut the presidential convoy on the first day of his job  if elected President in May 21 2019 Tripartte Elections  and stop the culture of lining up the police along the roads, saying this was slavery.

He said the tendency of lining up the law enforcers from Blantyre to Lilongwe just because one person (the president) wants to use the road was dehumanizing and glorification of a mortal as an immortal.

Chirwa said instead of lining up the police officers along the road, the head of state and the vice president should instead be accompanied by adequate security personnel on their road journeys.

“The law should provide as to how many security personnel the head of state or the vice president should have on road journeys instead of lining up the security personnel along the roads hours on end when they could have been doing equally other important work elsewhere,” he said.

Chilima also said once in power, the UTM will review the unnecessary closure of the roads when the presidential motorcade is passing, saying the current arrangement is more of glorification than security.

But a legal analyst has faulted Chilima for suggesting that UTM will facilitate the amendment of the Constitution to give the office of the vice president more authority and certainty.

Justin Dzonzi said doing so would be creating another parallel government within the government.

Dzonzi said world over, the office of the vice president falls under the office of the president, saying this is because the vice president is just a care taker in the event that the office of the president falls vacant.

“It would be wrong to give the office the permanent mandate, the vice president elsewhere gets instructions from the president. The framers of the Constitution knew what they were doing,” he said.

He said it would be illogical to change the Constitution to deal with a specific problem.

Chilima has had an acrimonious relationship with his boss, president Peter Mutharika after the vice president expressed interest to challenge Mutharika for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party presidency.

He said there was need to empower and respect the office of the vice president.