Rights defender warns on ‘spy machine’
BY JAMESON CHAULUKA:
Human rights defender Billy Mayaya Sunday asked the government not to go ahead with plans to eavesdrop on citizens.
He was commenting on Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s claims that the government has purchased a machine to spy on people’s private conversations on phones.
Mayaya said eavesdropping on people’s private conversations is illegal, criminal and should not have space in a democracy.
Chilima made the claims when he launched his United Transformation Movement at Masintha Ground in Lilongwe on Saturday.
“Mwagulidwa matchini m’dziko muno oti adzitimvera zimene tiziyankhula mmaterefoni. Ndiye amene mwagulanu kudzera ku Macra [Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority] ndi kwina kuja, we know [tikudziwa] kuti mwagula. Mukufuna mudzitimvera chiyani? Ngati mukufuna kudziwa ma strategy a United Transformation Movement, dzaloweni chipani… [The government has bought a machine to be used for eavesdropping on our private conversations on our phones. So, to you who have bought the machine through Macra and somewhere else, we know. What do you want to hear? If you want to know our strategy, just join us,” Chilima said.
Chilima also said no plan to rig the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections using the spy machine would be successful.
“Matchini anuwo ngati mukuti mudzabera chisankho mwauponda. Baberani tidzaonetsana May 2019. Ena mukumanena monyada kuti chisankho munabera kale. Simungabere mwachepa kwambiri… [If you want to use that machine to rig the elections, it won’t happen. Keep on stealing the votes; we will see come May 2019. Some of you are claiming that you have already rigged the elections. It will not happen],” he said.
But government spokesperson, Nicholas Dausi, dismissed Chilima’s claims, describing the contents of his speech as a package of lies.
“The Vice-President was the master dramatist peddling a lot of lies to the Malawi nation. I didn’t think he would sink so low [as to say that]. The speech was totally empty and a package of lies. There is nothing of that sort. It is a lie and very unfortunate,” he said.
Macra spokesperson, Clara Mwafulirwa, could not pick our calls Sunday.
Communications law expert, Innocent Kalua, said, so far, there is no law mandating the government to eavesdrop on citizens
“The right to privacy is not absolute; it can be limited. But here are thresholds that must be made. The limitations must be prescribed by law. There was a bill called National Intelligence Service. It was referred back to the Legal Affairs Committee, which means we do not have a law mandating the government to eavesdrop on our conversations,” Kalua said.
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