‘Govt to reconstruct burnt police units’
Minister of Homeland Security Nicholas Dausi has said government will reconstruct police units that were torched down during demonstrations aimed at forcing Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah to resign.
The Minister made these remarks yesterday when he visited Chiputula and Chibavi police units in Mzuzu that suffered damage during the demonstrations.
However, Dausi bemoaned the tendency of targeting police formations during demonstrations, saying the institution is meant to protect people and property.
He said: “Those that had criminal records used demonstrations to burn police formations to destroy evidence. The people of Chibavi and
Chiputula are disadvantaged as far as security is concerned.”
However, Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC), who organised the demonstrations, blamed city councils and the police for fueling violence during marches.
“We would like to condemn government and city assembly’s behaviour in trying to block Malawians’ constitutional right to demonstrate,” read HRDC statement in part. During the last demonstrations in Mzuzu, some people torched Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regional offices, Chiputula Police Unit and Mzuzu City Council health department office situated at Mzuzu Stadium while during the July 4 to 5 demonstrations, protesters burned the treasury cashier’s office.
