Police reject CSO’s wish to march to State House
Police have turned down civil society organisations’ (CSOs) wish to deliver their petition at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe during planned demonstrations to protest against disbursement of K4 billion to legislators and other issues on April 27.
The police have also stopped the CSOs from marching through the populous Lilongwe township of Mchesi on their way to Lilongwe City Council Civic Centre.
In reaction, the visibly unfazed CSOs have written the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) on the matter, seeking the presence of either President Peter Mutharika or Vice-President Saulos Chilima to personally receive their petition in Lilongwe.
Human Rights Defenders Forum chairperson Timothy Mtambo, who led CSOs to the meeting with police and other stakeholders ahead of the demonstrations, yesterday described the meeting as a heated one.
He said: “We told them that our interest was not to go to State House. Our interest is to deliver the petition to the President. We don’t care the place where he wants us to deliver the petition to him. Since he has an office, we said we should meet him at OPC.
“If the President has no interest to meet us, then we will ask the Vice-President to take our petition because we are targeting the Presidency, not just an individual. They refused that they cannot tell the President what to do on this.”
Two weeks ago, Mutharika rebuffed the CSOs with his press secretary and spokesperson Mgeme Kalilani describing as “wishful thinking” the CSOs’ expectation to have the President personally receive their petition.
Kalilani said Mutharika was not party to the demonstrations and will, therefore, not be party to anything associated with them.
In Lilongwe, the CSOs initially planned to march from the community ground through Mchesi and Kamuzu Central Hospital Roundabout and Parliament to Kamuzu Palace.
But during the Monday meeting, according to Mtambo, the route was described as a security risk.
Central Region Police spokesperson Noriette Chihana said in an interview yesterday the Mchesi route and State House have been scrapped off from the plan.
She said: “Mchesi is crowded with a lot of people, houses and businesses, so it will not be ideal to use that route in case something happens. We know it is a peaceful march, but we just have to be careful. So we agreed that they start marching from Chisomo Private Secondary School.
“The same applies with State House, they cannot be allowed there because it is a restricted area. Due to security reasons, they cannot be allowed.”
In Blantyre, Mzuzu, Zomba and Karonga where the demonstrations will also be held, the CSOs are yet to meet police and council officials.
Through the demonstrations, which the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) and others are supporting, the CSOs are demanding reversal of disbursement of the K4 billion fund and the resignation of Cabinet ministers Goodall Gondwe (Finance, Economic Planning and Development) and Kondwani Nankhumwa (Local Government and Rural Development) over their roles in the transaction.
The CSOs argue that the K4 billion allocation is illegal and not in the best interest of Malawians; hence, the need to immediately cancel it.
