By Wezzie Gausi:
The Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has criticised the Malawi Police Service (MPS) following the death of a seven-week-old baby at a police checkpoint in Mzimba on June 5 2023.
MHRC launched an investigation into the death after Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) requested an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
The commission presented findings of the investigation at a briefing that took place in Lilongwe Tuesday.
According to the report, the incident occurred when traffic officers detained a vehicle transporting the child to the hospital for medical treatment.
“The police stopped the vehicle because the driver was operating it without a valid road service permit.
“It is established that the police detained the vehicle for about 10 to 25 minutes despite the driver of the vehicle informing the police that he was rushing to the hospital with the child, who was not feeling well,” the report reads.
Among its recommendations, MHRC has called for an investigation by the Malawi Police Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) into the conduct of the officers who were manning the checkpoint.
MHRC has also suggested that the family of the deceased should consider legal action against the police.
Immediately after the incident, Mzimba Police Station spokesperson Peter Botha said the driver, Sostin Sakala, had not promptly informed the traffic police officers of the critically ill child.
But speaking during the release of the report, MHRC Commissioner Boniface Massah said the driver had notified the police about the child’s condition in the early minutes of their conversation while negotiating the fine given for operating a vehicle without a road service permit.
“The driver was [only] allowed to proceed to the hospital after the officers had been informed that the baby had died,” Massah said.
HRDC Chairperson Gift Trapence said in line with the report’s recommendations, the rights body will initiate legal proceedings due to the delay in seeking medical attention for the child.
He expressed sadness over the death of the baby caused by what he described as careless actions and negligence by the police.
“Now that the report is out, we have grounds to take legal action. We are pleased that the report has been released so that people can understand the events that led to the death of the child,” Trapence said.
MPS officials who were present when the findings of the investigation were being disseminated said they would wait to carefully read the full report first before commenting on its contents.
On the other hand, ICC spokesperson Happy Njalam’mano said the complaints-handling body instituted investigations into the matter on its own initiative.
“However, we would like to commend MHRC for their investigations. We will look into the report to see how best to move further with our investigations based on their recommendations,” Njalam’mano said.
The incident sparked public outrage, prompting further calls from Mzimba Heritage Association (Mziha) for disciplinary action against the involved officers.
Mziha described the actions of the police as unacceptable.
National police spokesperson Peter Kalaya assured the public then that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
Sakala’s vehicle was detained for allegedly violating several traffic regulations, including exceeding its carrying capacity.
0 Comments