President Peter Mutharika has urged opposition leaders Dr. Saulos Chilima and Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to think about Malawi instead of thinking about themselves.

Mutharika made the call on Wednesday when he met two Malawi Defence Force (MDF) officers who went missing in the Democratic Republic of Congo during a peacekeeping mission last year.

In his speech, Mutharika accused opposition leaders in the country of being behind post-election violence and urged them to think about the country and not about their personal interests.

He claimed that the opposition leaders are ignoring all democratic and legal processes which were put in place after citizens rejected “political terrorism” and “victimization” of innocent Malawians 25 years ago.

“These people are vandalizing schools and terrorizing school children; attacking innocent people in their homes; breaking cars of innocent Malawians and stealing from shops in organized looting. They are taking away our property,” he said.

Mutharika also warned that following the destruction that has been done in the past few months, it will take years to rebuild the country.

Mutharika was declared winner of the May 21 presidential elections, beating Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera and UTM’s Saulos Chilima.

The two losing candidates are currently challenging results of the elections in court.

They have also been supporting demonstrations against Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah.

The protests usually turn ugly with protesters looting shops and damaging property.

On Tuesday, Police arrested 20 people after looting and property damage marred post-election protests in Lilongwe.