United Transformation Movement (UTM) President Saulos Klaus Chilima, has strongly condemned acts of vandalism witnessed in some parts of the country during yesterday’s nationwide demonstrations.

Chilima, together with Malawi Congress Party (MCP) President, Lazarus Chakwera, led the demonstrations in Lilongwe asking for the immediate resignation of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Jane Ansah. They are accusing her of mishandling the highly disputed May 21 tripartite elections in which MEC declared Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate, Peter Mutharika.

In a statement signed by Chilima himself, the UTM leader further asks security officers to take preventive measures to avoid future occurrences of vandalism.

“I have learnt with sadness that as we were marching for this noble cause, some unruly citizens masquareding as demonstrators wanted to cash in on the exercise and went ahead and vandalized both public and private property,” says Chilima.

He adds; “I hereby wish to condemn that behavior in the strongest terms…I want to emphasize that violence has never and shall never nor shall it ever solve issues of national concern.”

While the demonstrations were largely peaceful, reports indicated some pockets of vandalism in various areas.

In Mzuzu, for example, the protesters ransacked a Bata Shoe Company shop, while in Blantyre billboards of DPP’s Peter Mutharika, were set ablaze.

According to a police report, in Lilongwe some protesters vandalized the main barrier at the Parliament building and injured two police officers