Lilongwe – Dozens of masked men armed with machetes and clubs prevented protesters from gathering in Malawi’s capital on Monday for an anti-government demonstration against a crippling fuel crisis and rising food prices.
The protest was called by a civil society group to demand the resignation of the energy minister over long-running fuel shortages and to object to plans for electronic voting at next year’s general elections.
As protesters began to assemble at a sports field in the centre of Lilongwe, they were charged by men disguised by masks and hoodies, witnesses said.
The small group of demonstrators fled, and the group of men set camp on the field to prevent them from reassembling. The identity of the armed gang was unknown.
Police later fired teargas to disperse protesters who wanted to confront the masked men, witnesses said. Police did not respond to calls for comment.
Protesters teargassed as Malawi’s fuel crisis sparks outrage.
On November 25, hundreds of citizens took to the streets of Lilongwe to voice their frustration over the government’s handling of the escalating fuel shortage.
Is the government doing enough to address the crisis?… pic.twitter.com/eHQBmxY9OH
— Global South World (@g_s_world) November 25, 2024
“As you have seen today, people have been chased with pangas,” said city resident Thom Jere. “It’s very unfortunate that the police chose not to protect the people.”
The protest was called by the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) which said Sunday the energy minister and head of the energy authority should quit over the fuel crisis.
The government imposed fuel rationing at the start of November, after a lack of foreign exchange had interrupted supplies for weeks.
The fuel shortage has increased costs of transportation, with a knock-on effect on the prices of essential goods and food in a country where 70 percent of people live in extreme poverty.
Some young men who gathered for the protest carried signs reading: “An economy without fuel? forex? fertilzer? food?”
‘Rule of law’
The gathering was also intended to demand that the electoral commission suspend voter registration for September 2025 elections until it had given assurances that it would not use electronic voting technology, the CDEDI said.
Opposition parties have expressed concern that an electronic system could rig the vote in favour of the ruling Malawi Congress Party.
CDEDI leader Slyvester Namiwa accused the government of using the police to break up what was intended to be a peaceful demonstration. The police had “shielded” the unknown armed men, he said.
“For the first time in the country, we have seen a two-month back-to-back fuel crisis which has affected the economy,” he said.
“The government doesn’t seem to have a clue on how to solve this crisis so they should step down.”
The Malawi Law Society, Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) also criticised the police for failing to rein in the armed men.
“Political violence of any kind cannot be tolerated in a democracy and we call upon the authorities to deliver a clear and timely message and take action” to preempt such unrest ahead of the 2025 general elections, the society said.
“The rule of law should prevail,” the group’s chairman Gift Trapence told AFP.
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@MwizaMphande
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