State House endorses police probe into CHRR offices attack

State House has told the police to take up its rightful role in investigating 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,  which has drawn condemnation from international rights bodies.

Presidential advisor on civil society organisations, Mabvuto Bamusi said this after United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN) launched a stinging attack on the government for its failure to protect human rights activists and women politicians following the ruling party Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cadets attacks, harassment and intimidation.

Bamusi said soon after the attack on the CHRR offices of Mtambo, he met the civil rights activist.

“I met Mr. Mtambo soon after I heard about it and we discussed this issue. We have advised the police to take their rightful role to bring the perpetrators of this to book,” he said.

He claimed the DPP-led government does not condone violence, saying not only against civil rights activists but against any other Malawian.

Bamusi vehemently denied that the attacks were perpetrated by DPP youth cadets, notorious for beating up, attacking, harassing and intimidating those with dissenting political views against President Peter Mutharika and his DPP.

“These allegations are unfounded and baseless. We are now in a charged electoral environment people can say anything. President Mutharika is a democrat who always wants every Malawian to live peacefully,” he said.

However, Bamusi, a former civil rights activist himself, advised human rights actors to be apolitical, saying some of them work for some political parties.

He did not elaborate.