Malawi Police Service rates 2019 as bad

Malawi Police Service (MPS) has described the year 2019 as bad.

Zomba Police College Commissioner, Demster Chigwenembe, said this during a Christmas and New Year’s ball held on Sunday at the college in the old capital.

“The year 2019 was a year when a lot was happening. There was tension before, during and after the May 21 [tripartite] elections. This made our work very difficult,” Chigwenembe said.

He said it was also difficult to handle protesters during mass demonstrations, which until now are happening.

Chigwenembe said the death of policeman, Usamani Imedi, after he was stoned by a mob in Nsundwe, Lilongwe, worsened the situation.

“This was the toughest year as people lost trust in us. Instead of trusting us to provide security, they turned violent and making matters worse, they killed our officer in the line of duty,” Chigwenembe said.

He, therefore, said as one way of moving forward, there was need for people to work hand-in-hand with the police.

“Come 2020, we hope and believe that we are going to unite as Malawians. We urge the general public to trust us so that we may not face a situation like we face last year,” he said.

A recent police report by Eastern Region indicated an increase in the number of people who were murdered in 2019.

Recently, Eastern Region Police Commissioner, Arlene Baluwa, said 597 people were murdered in 2019, up from 475 in 2018.