President Peter Mutharika bemoaned what he described as ‘selfishness’ by those in the opposition.
Mutharika spoke during a ceremony that took place at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Wednesday to honour two Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers who went missing during a peace-keeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but eventually returned to the camp.
“These people [protesters] are vandalising schools [blocks] and terrorising school children, attacking innocent people in their homes, breaking cars of innocent Malawians and stealing from shops in organised looting. They are taking away our property”.
“I would like to call upon opposition [party] leaders that, for once, just for once, they must think about this country instead of thinking of themselves. The destruction we have caused in the last few months will take us years to rebuild this country,” Mutharika said.
His sentiments come amid protests which Human Rights Defenders Coalition is organising to force Malawi Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Jane Ansah to resign.
In his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of MDF, Mutharika promoted Corporal George Salimu to Staff Sergeant and Lance Corporal Gift Tatani Nkhoma to Sergeant.
“These are the symbols of courage and heroism. We would like to honour them today. They are the symbols of peace that we all love as a country,” he said.
On November 12 2018, MDF soldiers were engaged in a peace-keeping operation in the DRC where six Malawian soldiers lost their lives, five went missing and three returned.