By Pemphero Malimba:
The Police Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) says it has made strides in its investigations into the shooting of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Brenda Saidi and the beating of activist Sylvester Namiwa in Lilongwe.
Saidi was allegedly shot in the arm by police officers when she visited DPP Central Region vice president Alfred Gangata, who was arrested at Area 3’s Lilongwe Police Station in January this year.
On the other hand, Namiwa was beaten by panga-wielding men in view of police officers while he was leading demonstrations under the banner Citizens for Credible Elections in the city last month.
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The demonstrations aimed to force Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) Chairperson Judge Annabel Mtalimanja and Mec Chief Elections Officer Andrew Mpesi to step down.
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The group argued that the two were compromised in presiding over the September 16 general elections.
It cited, among other issues, Mec’s insistence on using election management devices supplied by Smartmatic and the refusal to allow an independent audit of Mec’s election management system to be carried out as evidence that the two Mec officials were compromised.
In an interview, ICC spokesperson Happy Njalam’mano said investigations into the two cases were at an advanced stage, although he could not divulge further information on the matter.
“We are making progress on the two cases that we are pursuing but so far we cannot specify the exact time we will conclude the investigations,” Njalam’mano said.
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Reports indicate that in the Namiwa case, some police officers who were on duty during the demonstrations in Lilongwe were summoned by the ICC last week.
However, Njalam’mano said he could not confirm the reports but indicated that such incidents are normal in their investigations.
“Once we conclude the investigations, we will let Malawians know the outcome of the report and its recommendations,” he said.
Human rights activist Michael Kaiyatsa said while such investigations were crucial, issues of accountability remain a challenge in the country.
“The move by the ICC to investigate police conduct during the assault on Mr Namiwa is, on the surface, a step in the right direction.
“However, whether such investigations will actually lead to accountability remains to be seen. We have seen far too many of these investigations into police unprofessional conduct only to end in silence or no action at all,” Kaiyatsa said.
He added that action on recommendations made after the conclusion of the investigations was crucial to ensuring change in the operations of police officers.
“Investigations, by themselves, do not guarantee justice. It’s what happens after the investigations that matters,” he said.
