Front PageNational News

Police invade courts

Armed police officers on Friday invaded High Court registries in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba in attempt to break the three-week-old strike by judicial support staff.

In Mzuzu and Zomba, armed police officers drove the striking officers out of their campuses.

The situation at Mzuzu registry after police forced out staff

According to Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula, in Blantyre, the striking officers only left after being briefed by the union leaders whereas in Lilongwe, the police officers found the premises already deserted.

The police invasion came hours after judiciary support staff union leaders in Blantyre rebuffed a call by Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda to tell their members to return to work by Monday.

National police spokesperson James Kadadzera, justifying police’s involvement in an interview yesterday, said it is their duty to provide security where it is necessary.

The striking officers, who are demanding house allowances, have defied the order by the Chief Justice, insisting they would only return to work when government grants them their wish.

The Judiciary support staff union president, Charles Lisigeni , surrounded by armed police officers, told the striking officers at the High Court in Blantyre that the Chief Justice would address them on Monday.

According to Malawi News Agency (Mana), at around 2pm, onlookers at the High Court in Mzuzu were surprised to see police officers converging on the court house, with some in combat gear.

The police officers held a brief meeting with leaders of the support staff outside the court house.

When the union leaders went inside the court to brief their members, they took about 30 minutes to the impatience of the police officers.

Police regional operations officer for the North, Dorothy Kawale, later ordered her officers to invade the court house.

“They should either go to their respective homes or to their respective offices to work,” Kawale was heard saying.

Inside in the court, Kawale told the judiciary support staff to leave the court premises peacefully, a call which, apparently, did not go down well with the staff.

The situation degenerated into exchange of abusive language between police officers and the judiciary support staff.

Following resistance from the striking workers, police officers in combat gear started pushing the workers out of the court house.

At around 5.30pm, some police officers were seen guarding the entrance to the court house, indicating that judiciary guards were not available.

The police invasion has come at a time private practice lawyer, Mordecai Msisha, is mediating between government and the judiciary support staff.

Msisha, after hearing government and the striking support staff last week, is yet to come up with recommendations. The workers have been demanding that Finance, Economic Planning and Development Minister Goodall Gondwe should release money for their housing allowances.

They claim, last July Parliament approved their house allowances alongside those of judicial officers. Currently, only judicial officers receive the allowances.

However, in a letter signed by Secretary to the Treasury Ben Botolo dated August 15 2017 government says it has no obligation to make the claimed payments because there are no financial resources to cater for additional payments to the support staff.  —Additional reporting by Andrew Mkoka, Mana

Related Articles

Back to top button