Police Commissioner for Southern Region Sledge Yoosuf has praised a Chikwawa Police Station officer for his vigilance in enhancing free and fair elections.
The officer, Assistant Superintendent Kalemba Gondwe, who is operations officer at the station, intercepted a truck suspected to have been carrying pre-marked ballot papers that have caused a stir in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts.
Yoosuf said Gondwe intercepted the truck around Nchalo in Chikwawa when he noted that the election materials were being ferried without security escort.
“My personal feeling is such acts of bravery and vigilance deserve some recognition. I mean, here is someone who was going the opposite direction as part of his patrols, but saw it fit to turn and pursue the truck before he could finally seize it at his station.
“He is the one who also alerted the other stakeholders and together they escorted it safely to Blantyre. Were it up to me alone, I would have promoted the officer on the spot,” he said.
The truck was safely escorted to Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) head offices in Blantyre on Friday where electoral officials unveiled its contents before various election stakeholders, including representatives of political parties.
The truck stirred a commotion as it arrived in the commercial capital on Friday as hundreds of people bayed for the concerned MEC officials’ lives.
The tensions boiled over as former minister of Homeland Security Nicholas Dausi arrived at the scene, where some people assaulted him.
Various bodies, including the police, have since condemned the assault and any other election-related violence.
