The Malawi Police Service (MPS) on Wednesday said there is no evidence for treason that links the three arrested Malawi Congress Party (MCP) officials but that investigations are still underway.
This contradicts what the National Police Spokesperson, Nicholas Gondwa, told the media on Tuesday that they would be changing the charge from sedition to treason after getting more evidence on the case.
Police arrested MCP executive member Ulemu Msungama , Publicity Secretary Jessie Kabwila and party Youth Committee Leader Peter Chakhwantha.
Kabwila and Chakwantha are also Members of Parliament for the party.
Inspector General of Police, Lexten Kachama, told a news conference in Lilongwe yesterday that the police have not formally charged the three with treason because there is no evidence beyond reasonable doubt that links the three to treason.
“There is no evidence of the charge. We cannot conclude that the offence was committed or not. We can charge them after getting full evidence,” the IG said. Kachama’s also contradicted Gondwa, who said the Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya committed a crime for aiding and abetting a suspect or obstructing an officer from making an arrest.
Kachama instead said the Speaker of Parliament will not be arrested for allegedly aiding Kabwila to escape from Parliament using his official vehicle registration number ‘PAR 1’.
Said Kachama: “Nothing will happen to him. We are quiet on that. [The] Speaker does not drive PAR 1. Maybe Kabwila just jumped into the car.”
He also said the police granted the three bail without necessarily going to court because there were no formal charges against them.
Kachama was quick to add that the police were not under any pressure from government to make the arrests on political grounds.
“In all the arrests made, the suspects were merely interviewed and then cautioned of the offence of treason and not any other offence then released without formally charging them or issuing ‘Evidence of Arrest’,” he said.
Asked about other treason cases gathering dust in court and losses of government money attached to them for lack of evidence, Kachama said: “We do not mind about loss of money but ensure that lives and property are protected. Treason is not an easy thing. We cannot sit idle fearing that government will lose money in future. Money should be second thing to think about. Let us not talk about the past.”
Meanwhile, the Malawi Law Society has faulted the police for disregarding the law on the arrests and charging of the three over their WhatsApp discussion which the police initially said was seditious but changed to treason, arguing no bail is granted to anybody answering treason charges.
On the change from sedition to treason, Chancellor College law expert, Edge Kanyongolo, said before arresting somebody, police must properly inform the suspect on the reasons for the arrest.
“The Constitution says when you are being arrested, you have to be told the reason for your arrest and that reason must be genuine. And the changing of charges is something that must not happen. You should be very clear because constant changing of the charges can actually lead to concerns on the part of the person being charged because you are making it difficult for them to prepare their defence,” Kanyongolo said.
Reacting to the police’s current position, MCP Deputy Spokesperson, Ezekiel Ching’oma, described Kachama’s sentiments as a confirmation of what the party has been saying that the arrests are politically motivated and aimed at silencing its members.
“We ask the police to be professional and avoid being used by selfish and myopic politicians. The police have to be reminded that governments change and that if they tend to operate not in a professional manner, they are putting their image into disrepute, and they will be used in a bad way by every other political party which is in the corridors of power.
“Everyone knows that this government is a failure and there’s no way things would change because they are arresting opposition members arbitrarily. No. We urge the government to stop arresting opposition members without any tangible reason on the ground. We ask it to fight for Malawians on many problems citizens are encountering out there. They should think of the very vulnerable people suffering in the village,” Ching’oma said.
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