Police cancels planned "interview" with Chizuma...as public anger rages

MALAWI: In an unexpected turn of events, the Malawi Police Service (MPS) has cancelled its planned "normal investigation interview" with the country's anti-graft agency, Martha Chizuma, scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday at police headquarters in Lilongwe, due to leaked audio.

Inspector Harry Namwaza, Deputy National Police Spokesperson, said in a statement released Friday that the Malawi Police Service (MPS) has learned that some citizens are mobilizing to demonstrate against the MPS for complying with a court order to interview Ms. Martha Chizuma, Director General of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), as a person of interest in a matter about which the court needs to establish facts.

“The right to demonstrate is sacred and enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, and so the MPS is bound by law and committed to the protection of any citizen who wishes to exercise that right, just as the MPS is bound by law and committed to comply with court orders,” said Inspector Namwaza.

He said, regardless, the MPS recognizes its responsibility to ensure that it conducts its operations and fulfils its Constitutional mandate in a transparent manner, so that the public is not misled about its actions or motivations.

“For this reason, the MPS will hold a press conference at National Police Headquarters on Monday, 25th April 2022 at 10 O’clock in the morning to attend to all public questions or concerns regarding the court order and allay any fears generated by its misrepresentation and politicization in the media,” said Namwaza.

“In the meantime, to create room for the building of public trust in the processes the MPS follows in compliance with court orders, the summon to interview Ms. Chizuma is suspended until further notice.”