Front PageNational News

Police defied law on MCP arrests—MLS

The Malawi Law Society (MLS) has accused police of disregarding the law on the arrests and charging of three opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) officials during the past three days.

Police arrested MCP executive member Ulemu Msungama on Sunday, publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila on Monday and party youth committee leader Peter Chakhwantha on Tuesday over a WhatsApp discussion that the police initially said were seditious, but are now claiming are treasonous.

Soko: Police erred
Soko: Police erred

But MLS observed that police were wrong to arrest the three and later grant them bail.

MLS honorary secretary Khumbo Soko said the Bail Guidelines Act stipulates that police cannot grant bail to a person charged with serious offences like treason.

He said: “The third guideline under part one of the Bail Guidelines Act clearly says that bail shall not be granted to a person arrested for an offence punishable by death such as treason, murder, rape, armed robbery and burglary.”

Soko said the police were supposed to bring the suspects to the High Court for hearing before it could grant bail.

But when asked under what conditions the police granted Kabwila and Msungama bail, national police spokesperson Nicholas Gondwa said: “Let me say that may be my friends who were in the forefront charging them [Kabwila and Msungama] and giving them bail consulted and reached that point of giving them bail. But I really don’t know what happened, so I can’t say anything further than that.”

Earlier, Gondwa told the media Msungama was charged with an offence of sedition, but when queried why that was the case since Kabwila was charged with treason, he said: “You know those two cases are interrelated. Uttering seditious words leads to treason. The holding charge was sedition, but now the proper charge is treason, so both of them have been recorded statements under the charge of treason.”

When asked about the arrests and the role he played as legal adviser to government, Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale declined to divulge any information, saying that would be a breach of ethics.

“The duties of the Attorney General under Constitution are merely to provide advice to government. So, I would be in breach of ethics if I disclose what transpired between me and my client,” said Kaphale.

However, a South African based law scholar at University of Cape Town, Danwood Chirwa, on Tuesday told The Nation the arrests are illegal and indicative of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party being in disarray and at war with itself.

According to Chirwa, opposition political parties exist to topple the ruling party as long as that overthrow is by political and peaceful means. n

Related Articles

One Comment

  1. Sorry my Senior Counsel Kaphale. Sometimes we walk in shame not out of our own deeds but the deeds of those we associate with but take note of the Psalmist’s advice (Psalms 1:1-6).

Back to top button