Court awards Msundwe women millions
The High Court sitting in Lilongwe on Tuesday ordered the Malawi Police Service to pay millions of Kwacha to 18 women who were allegedly sexually assaulted by police officers in Lilongwe’s Msundwe, Mbwatalika and Mpingu areas on October 8 2019.
In her ruling, High Court Assistant Registrar Madalitso Chimwaza awarded the women monetary compensations ranging from K4 million to K10 million each.
Judiciary spokesperson Gladys Gondwe confirmed the development in an interview Wednesday but could not give the total sum given to all the 18 women.
“Of course, so far, I have only gotten the impression of what the court ordered and that the highest amount ordered is K10 million and the lowest is K4 million. She is perfecting the order, so I am yet to get the details for each and every individual claimant,” Gondwe said.
Women Lawyers Association President Immaculate Maluza, whose organisation led the 18 women to court to demand justice, said the women had been informed about the compensation amounts.
“The exact amounts will be verified when the judgement is perfected but we have told our clients and we are waiting for feedback for further action but we will also be releasing a statement,” Maluza said.
National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera was not immediately available for comment.
On August 13 last year, High Court Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda ordered the police to compensate the 18 women and arrest 17 law enforcers implicated in the matter.
Nyirenda established that the applicants were victims of sexual violence, ordering that they be compensated for the heinous acts they suffered at the hands of law enforcers.
The judge further blamed the office of the Inspector General (IG) for failing to put in place a credible system of monitoring the conduct of officers.
The IG was therefore ordered to report to the court on steps taken to investigate and arrest the perpetrators of sexual violence.
“As was aptly submitted by the applicants, it is important that the officers of the [police] that sexually assaulted and raped the applicants and all other women and girls in M’bwatalika and Mpingu be arrested and prosecuted.
“I, however, believe that a period of 14 days might not be enough to carry out meaningful investigations. I, therefore, order that this be done within a period of 30 days from the date hereof,” Nyirenda said.
The case followed the conduct of about 17 police officers who allegedly raped 13 women, defiled one girl and sexually assaulted three under-18 girls during an operation on October 8 2019 at M’bwatalika, Mpingu and Msundwe locations in Lilongwe.
The operation followed the death of police officer Usumani Imedi, who was stoned by angry people in Msundwe area as they protested against the then president Peter Mutharika’s planned political rally in the area.
Last week, the Ministry of Homeland Security instructed the Malawi Police Service not to appeal the compensation matter to ensure that justice was done to the victimised women.
Secretary for Homeland Security Patricia Liabuba said the ministry would facilitate the smooth payment of compensation to the victims in line with the court order.
