Malawi Police Service officers, ostensibly assigned to provide security, turned into spectators as thugs took control and dispersed opposition protesters, calling on the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and the National Registration Bureau (NRB) to address electoral concerns.

With their faces covered and armed with pangas and other objects, the unidentified thugs descended on the grounds of the Lilongwe Community Center in the Old City and started chasing the protesters who gathered at the designated starting point.

The protesters planned to march to the MEC offices to deliver their petition calling for the resignation of MEC chairperson Annabel Mtalimanja, MEC head of elections Andrew Mpesi and NRB principal secretary Mphatso Sambo for alleged dereliction of duty and presiding over the general elections in September 16, 2025.

Meanwhile, police officers were seen watching the spectacle from a distance as thugs terrorized the demonstrators, mostly from opposition political parties and civil society organizations (CSOs).

Ironically, the police had earlier fired tear gas canisters at the protesters.

Now in full control, thugs barricaded the community grounds, pushing away anyone they suspected of being around the scene to stage protests.

During the commotion, some people were injured. The ugly scenes also disrupted business in Lilongwe Old Town, where shops remained closed for most of the day.

Opposition parties linked the attack to the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), a key member of the ruling Tonse Alliance.

In an interview yesterday, UTM party spokesperson Felix Njawala said the violent disruption of the peaceful demonstrations was a clear violation of citizens’ democratic rights and an attempt to suppress opposition voices.

He said: “This indicates a deliberate attempt to undermine the efforts of the opposition. Such acts can lead to greater social unrest and have seen other countries experience deep divisions.

“It is the role of the authorities to thoroughly investigate this incident. The use of pangas and violent intimidation suggest an organized effort to instill fear, and these actions were visibly condoned, if not orchestrated, by people close to the ruling party structures.”

Njawala said as an opposition party, they demand transparency and accountability in identifying and prosecuting those responsible.

In a separate interview, Alliance for Democracy (Aford) spokesperson Annie Amatullah Maluwa blamed the violence on the MCP.

She said since the opposition parties started raising issues with the MEC and the NBR regarding the management of the electoral process; MCP is the one who answered.

However, Maluwa said opposition parties and others in Malawi will not relent until the issues are resolved.

But MCP spokesperson Jessie Kabwira distanced her party from the thuggish behavior and claimed the thieves belonged to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

“He should bring proof that he was MCP. Can’t wake up and says it’s MCP. We were in Mchinji busy campaigning for people to register for next year’s elections,” she said.

Speaking during a press conference later in the afternoon, Aford chairman Enoch Chihana claimed the government was aware of the violence against opposition parties but decided not to act.

In a twist of events, a man claiming to be an officer of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was caught snooping on Aford’s offices in Lilongwe, where opposition parties had held a press briefing to condemn the violence that took place yesterday.

Some members of the opposition suspected the man to be an intruder and caught him.

However, some opposition party leaders came to his rescue to properly question him about his mission at the event and he declared that he was from the NIS.

Minutes after the tip-off, armed police officers stormed the Aford offices, saying they had heard there had been a fight and wanted to check what was going on and maintain order.

However, opposition supporters called on the police to leave, calling them hypocrites.

In a written response, National Police spokesman Peter Kalaya said the information the police had was that there would be no demonstrations and that the police had deployed officers for normal patrols.

He said police had received no reports of people being attacked or injured. However, he said the police had received information that the businessmen had moved to protect their businesses.

Meanwhile, human rights activists condemned the violence, calling on the Police to bring the perpetrators to light.

In an interview, the president of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, Gift Trapence, called on the police to arrest those carrying pangas and chasing people who wanted to exercise their right to demonstrate.

He said: “It is unfortunate that this happened under the watch of the Police. The police should rise above party politics and arrest those who committed this violence.”

The Executive Officer of the Center for the Rehabilitation of Human Rights, Michael Kaiyatsa, condemned the police for allowing a group of people to terrorize others.

He expressed sadness that the people’s right to assembly, enshrined in the Malawi Constitution, had been violated.

The Lilongwe District Council on Tuesday asked the protesters to postpone their march on the grounds that the police were overstretched and as such could not provide their security.

The opposition parties are protesting against the electoral body and the NBR leadership, as well as against the use of the ICT Smartmatics election management system, among others.

But in a letter dated November 11, 2024 to the secretaries general of the opposition parties calling for his resignation, Mtalimanja, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, said the MEC is committed to fulfilling his duties and functions under the country’s constitution.