BY FOSTER BENJAMIN, A CONTRIBUTOR
Walking into the area of Traditional Authority Makhwira in Chikwawa today, one easily misses signs of agents of security. One surely expects not to see a man or a woman in uniform anywhere in the area working to ensure that there is peace and calm, law and order. This brings about a sense of fear and insecurity.
But this is how Makhwira, a land of no police, will welcome you. A vast area which is home to over 200,000 people spanning from Masenjere to Maperera, it is baffliing to imagine that the thousands of Malawians in the Shire Valey territory cannot find apolice officer around.
Makhwira is now more of a haunted place than anything else. The ghosts still wander in the homes, cattle kraals and rice fields. These are ghosts of insecurity, fear and paranoia. But why is the area this haunted and seemingly accursed? Was the place meant to be like that— devoid of men and women who enforce law and order?
Actually not. Police was once here. Residents, however, chose to descend into a tailspin. March 22 this year was the day that saw the last of what used to be a police establishment at Makhwira, the booming hub of Chikwawa’s East Bank.
But what led to the demise of the oldest police unit in the area?
The arrest of a murder suspect is what sparked it all. Angry villagers stormed into the unit, baying for the suspect’s blood. The law enforcers, as their core function dictates, whisked the suspect off into safety at the main station at Chikwawa Boma. This led to ugly scenes all over. Trouble brewed like hell. Things fell apart. Looters were on the loose and went on the rampage, inflicting even more misery than what was bearable.
More police officers arrived but it was too late. The damage had already been done. Dozens of perpetrators were arrested and brought to justice. Following the unrest, police shut down its doors to the area. This sowed seeds of lawlessness as residents of the area began to bear the brunt of living without the services of the police. This, however, has left many in total confusion and regret.
Many residents of the area feel that the pitfalls of insecurity are a result of the absence of police in their midst. With the absence of law enforcers, says.
Wyson Kandiado from Malata Village, things are virtually out of hand. Cases like assault and grievous bodily harm are now spiralling out of control.
“To make matters worse, if you happen to have been assaulted, you are turned away from seeking medical help since the hospital personnel demand a referral letter from police,” says Kandiado, himself a victim of physical assault.
He claims to have been sent away by some health workers at the nearby facility since he had no report from the police.
He is a bitter man: “While oozing blood after being beaten by the father to my son’s girlfriend, I had to travel all the way to Chikwawa Police Station just to get a referral letter to the hospital. It is a long journey from here to Chikwawa Boma and you have no choice but to dig deep into your pockets for travel expenses.”
Such journeys really cost the residents a fortune. Manuel Matiasi, a resident of Masenjere, an area close to Fatima in Nsanje District, is a worried man. His concern lies in the very pockets that he and his fellow villagers have to dig into whenever travelling to Chikwawa Police Station, which is over 50 kilometres away.
He sums it up: “From Masenjere to Thabwa Roadblock, we spend around K2,000 before connecting to Chikwawa [Police Station]. We are suffering big time in our quest to access justice due to our own actions,” Matiasi seemingly mourns, adding: “We really need the police unit back. Day after day, you hear of people being robbed. When night falls, fear returns.”
Matiasi, a bicyle-taxi operator, strongly pleads with the authorities to consider bringing back the police unit to Makhwira.
He is not the only one making such pleas. Many others, both from within and outside Makhwira, have joined growing calls for the return of the cops.
Pastor Steve Mbewe, a resident of Dyeratu in the district, once led a crusade and mediated in the talks between the law enforcers and the community.
Ultimately, one thing is clear; people from Makhwira are obsessed with fear, fear for lawlessness. The ghosts of insecurity still haunt them. Theirs is a real life story characterised by a great deal of suspicion and nervousness. Will they continue living such tales of woe and doom? Will they continue being haunted and getting locked up in total despair?
Obviously, they will not. The nightmare days will soon be over. According to Demster Chigwenembe, Commissioner of Police responsible for the South, people of Makhwira will now have the police back.
Chigwenembe visited Makhwira recently as he attempted to find out more for himself. And he gave firm promises to people of the area as he addressed them: “Police presence is crucial to development. Without police around, it is total chaos. There will be a crisis, no development and no meaningful life. You need police here to protect both your lives and property.”
The commissioner reiterates the need to have police in a community, saying without law enforcing agencies, even government agencies begin to consider moving out, leaving people out in the cold.
The sentiments were echoed by Chikwawa Police Station Officer in-Charge, Davie Chingwalu.
Chingwalu, an assistant commissioner, reveals that one government worker in the area once confided in him that he was packing up for elsewhere, citing security reasons.
Now, with the promise of police returning to Makhwira, local residents have every reason to sing a song of joy.
75-year-old Phinifolo Phaundi of Bodza Village in the area, just a stone’s throw away from the ghostly police unit, is equally delighted: “We are now happy as the police is coming back. We will no longer live in fear,” Phaundi says.
However, the return of the police comes at a price. Constructing a structure to house the police unit remains key. And the onus rests on the community itself.
Police units are mainly built by the locals themselves, according to Chigwenembe: “When you damage a police unit, you shoot yourself in the foot as you will be solely responsible.”
The regional police boss quickly bemoans a series of attacks targeting police establishments, arguing such attacks totally disregard both humanity and human rights.
The Makhwira attack still has lessons for many in the area. Local leaders are very apologetic.
Councillor for the area, Davie Jossam, is forthright in his remarks: “We apologise for the violence that we inflicted on Makhwira Police Unit and its officers. Such a thing will never happen again. This is a promise,” says Jossam, adding that the unit is being reconstructed.
Surely, Makhwira’s search for a new chapter is still on. The chapter will be complete once the residents make good of their promise; that of bringing the dead police unit back into life.
This, so to speak, will surely put to rest the invisible ghosts haunting the land of a thousand rice and bean fields.
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