Police stop Chanco demos

Police in Zomba yesterday stopped Chancellor College students from going to the streets for protests to push government to increase their upkeep allowances.

Eastern Region Police spokesperson Thomeck Nyaude said in an interview the planned protests were illegal.

Said Nyaude: “There was no communication that the students had applied to the district commissioner’s office, which had been approved and sent to the police, so we had to call it off.”

In an interview yesterday, president for Students Union of Chancellor College (Succ),  Chipulumutso Asabuni,  said the students want their allowances increased  from K40 000 to around K60 000.

He said: “We are not saying they [government] should increase with more money. All we are saying is that they should increase up to an amount that can be adequate of not less than K57 000 because that is adequate for an upkeep.”

Currently, off campus students pay minimum rentals of K12 000 per month and prepare their own food whereas on campus students are not allowed to cook in their hostels.

During the previous demonstration that was conducted when Joyce Banda was in power, police used tear gas to disperse angry students and took almost the whole day guarding the entrance to Chancellor College.

The students have since given government an ultimatum of up to January 2015 to raise their allowances.