As pressure is mounting on the calls to Malawi Government to release two Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) members, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) President Lazarus Chakwera has also made the call describing the arrest as unlawful.
In a press statement seen by Face of Malawi reporter, Chakwera stresses that the arrest that have been made on Reverend Mac Donald Sembereka and Gift Trapence have shown that President Peter Mutharika (whom Chakwera addresses him as Mr. Mutharika) has failed to comply with the law as he is failing to differentiate party affairs from state matters.
Chakwera continued saying Mutharika is also failing to respect rights of the majority who have clearly rejected him.
“Over the last 10 months of Mr. Mutharika’s failure to comply with the law; failure to keep his party matters separate from state matters; failure to respect the independence of state institutions; failure to fulfil his oath of office to uphold the constitution; failure to respect the rights of the majority of citizens who do not want him; failure to rid his party of violent elements and violent rhetoric; failure to unite the regions and tribes that have an equal stake in Malawi’s heritage and destiny; failure to feel or address the anguish Malawians suffer under his leadership; failure to govern; and a general failure to think,” writes Chakwera.
Giving reference to what HRDC was about to do, Chakwera said no one was arrested when DPP cadets marched to Kamuzu palace during their ‘Restoration of Justice’ march.
“DPP supporters marched through the streets of Lilongwe all the way to Kamuzu Palace to present their grievances, and at no point where they hindered or threatened for doing so, yet he threatens supporters of other parties not to dare do the same and orders the police to arrest activists for wanting to exercise the same right. This selective and partisan application of rights is unacceptable,” he said.
The former leader of opposition in the August House continued by giving Mutharika a 48 hour of ultimatum to release the human rights activists failing which, Chakwera promised to mobilize people by himself to invade state house where he said Mutharika is a temporary tenant.
“I therefore call upon Mr. Mutharika to have the human rights activists who have been arrested released immediately. Should he fail to do so within 48 hours, I will personally galvanize all peace-loving and law-abiding Malawians to march on the State House of which he is a temporary tenant and camp there until these innocent activists are released,” he said.
