Malawi police under fire

By Cathy Maulidi :

The Malawi Police Service (MPS) has come under fire over human rights abuses, with the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) raising concern over such cases.

Speaking when they appeared before members of the Defence and Security Committee of Parliament Wednesday, MHRC officials claimed that it had reports of criminal suspects dying in police custody, with others being shot at outside police stations.

They said Malawi continued to register cases of torture and inhumane or degrading treatment in police stations, stating that between 2021 and 2024, the commission registered 73 cases of torture in police custody, eight deaths in police custody and 10 cases of infringement on other rights of detained persons.

It indicated that reported cases of torture included beatings, prolonged detention without charge, negligence in the form of delays to take detained persons to medical institutions for care and the unnecessary moving of suspects from one district to another.

“We noticed that the police have not been handling some cases well. We gave an example of Sam Mwenegamba, who died in police custody in Karonga, and Chikondi Makawa, who was killed by a police officer using a firearm at Gateway Shopping Mall in 2021,” MHRC Commissioner Teresa Ndanga said after a follow-up meeting with committee members Wednesday.

Both cases, according to Ndanga, were not handled well.

“We have also noted a growing trend where the police arrest a suspect in one district and transfer them to another district, which is far away from where their families can access them with food. This needs to be looked into,” she said.

Ndanga also presented a case involving a boy in Mulanje District.

The commissioner alleged that the boy was chained for days until his hands and fingers were damaged and required surgery.

Ndanga also cited the case of another suspect, Yohane Mkoko, who had to undergo surgery on his hand after he was handcuffed for days at Ndirande Police Station in 2021.

She also told the committee the story of police officers who fired at a crowd of fishers in Lake Chilwa in 2021 and killed three men in the process.

But in response, MPS Deputy Inspector General Happy Mkandawire defended the officers, saying they were, in many cases, acting in self defence.

“Our investigations show that the officer [in one case] was acting in self-defence, as opposed to excessive use of force,” said Mkandawire.

The MPS also responded to allegations of police negligence and misconduct, including the case of a 13-year-old boy who was allegedly brutalised by Mulanje police officers, who allegedly chained him for days on end.

“The two officers, now suspects, Charles Mbewe and Stainley Chigaru, stand charged with [causing] grievous [bodily] harm and are appearing before court,” said the MPS.

The MPS also addressed the issue of abuse of rights of suspects, stating that transfers between police cells were sometimes necessary for security, investigative or administrative purposes.

“However, we acknowledge the need for safeguards to prevent abuse,” Mkandawire said.

But Ndanga said MPS was just being defencive when responding to issues on some matters.

“They have presented more like blanket responses to most of the issues that we raised because, in many cases that are still under investigations, they have said they were still acting in self-defence. They should be open-minded by looking at why the officers acted the way they did and not conclude [that] they acted in self defence,” Ndanga said.

In response to this, Mkandawire said they do not shield each other as many police officers have been arrested and prosecuted for alleged human rights violations.

Commenting on the issues, Defence and Security Committee Chairperson Salim Bagus said the police should improve their working relationship with MHRC and the Independent Complaints Commission.

“They should improve their working relationship so that whenever there are issues, they can deal with them together,” Bagus said.

This was a follow-up meeting after the committee met stakeholders two weeks ago.