Panga-wielding people Tuesday frustrated demonstrations which vendors organised in Mzuzu City Tuesday.
The armed individuals openly challenged vendors’ leaders in the presence of Malawi Police Service personnel, telling them [vendors’ leaders] outright not to hold the protests or face bloodshed.
The demonstrations were aimed at forcing the government to stop foreign traders from selling goods on retail basis.
The vendors are also against foreign nationals who are engaging in business ventures that can ably be done by indigenous Malawians.
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The hoodlums-who covered their faces while carrying pangas, hammers, axes, wood and metal bars—were spotted lingering on the city’s streets from around 7:00am, when they started warning people not to join the protests.
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Speaking in presence of armed police officers, the individuals threatened to deal with vendors who would dare ignore their warning.
“We cannot allow people from other districts to come here and hold demonstrations and eat money. Last time, they did the same thing and did not share the money they received from their sponsors with us. Today, we will not allow them to proceed with the demonstrations.
“To make matters worse, they are disrupting our business,” said one of the masked men while flexing his muscles.
Later in the afternoon, some vendors—now armed— mobilised themselves and confronted members of the other group.
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The melee culminated in two people sustaining injuries.
The injured people—all men—were taken to Mapale Health Centre in Mzuzu, also known as the Green, City.
After about 40 minutes of brawling, the vendors’ leaders—namely Alexander Sikwese and Gerard Maulana—jumped into a police vehicle and were driven to the district office responsible for Mzimba North operations, where they delivered their petition.
Speaking in an interview after presenting the petition, Sikwese said they decided to withdraw their weapons after noticing that it was likely that more people [than the initial two] would be injured.
“Following what has happened today, we, vendors, have agreed that from tomorrow [Wednesday], we have stopped paying market fees, including for taxis that operate in the city. Foreign nationals who have taken over our business should be paying the fees on our behalf,” Sikwese said.
Meanwhile, Malawi Police Service spokesperson Peter Kalaya has said they are not aware that some people sustained injuries during the protests.
“We have not received any report of injury or injuries, only [a report] that the situation was tense, with some individuals—who are alleged to be businesspersons—claiming to be protecting their businesses while carrying offensive weapons on one side. [We have also received a report to the effect that some] vendors were also armed on the other [hand],” Kalaya said.
Recently, Ministry of Industry and Trade officials asked the vendors to exercise patience, saying it would take some time for their demands to be addressed.
The officials also said some answers would require policy changes.
