MCP, UDF, PP condemn house torching

Three main opposition parties in Malawi have added their  voice in condemnation of the torching of the house on Saturday night in Balaka that belongs to the Human Right Consultative Committee (HRC) acting national coordinator Reverend MacDonald Sembereka.

The Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the former governing United Democratic Front (UDF) and the newly-registered People's Party of state vice president Joyce Banda, joined the condemnation chorus through officials in separate interviews with Nyasa Times.

MCP spokesperson Nancy Tembo said from her base in Lilongwe that her party could not imagine that "unfortunate incident" could happen in a functioning democracy.

Nancy Tembo: Barbaric act

"Whatever issues there are, we cannot resolve them through torching of people's houses," Tembo, a former Lilongwe legislator, said.

She said what happened in Balaka should be condemned by all sectors of society.

Giving an official comment on incident, UDF's deputy secretary general Hophmally Makande said it was "very unfortunate".

"It's very unfortunate particularly when what the President said is indeed coming to fruition. The president said he is going to smoke out specific individuals and the people that have suffered this barbaric act were mentioned," said Makande, apparently referring to an incident about one week ago where unknown arsonists also burnt Institute for Policy Interaction, an NGO run by human rights activist Rafiq Hajat in Blantyre.

"We're all in Malawi and we have nowhere to run to. If these barbaric acts continue, we shall take government to task," warned.

Stephen Mwenye, who speaks on behalf of the People's Party, told Nyasa Times that there was need that the ruling party practices clean politics by not stifling dissent.

"PP, as a party of the people and for the people, views the incident in Balaka with sadness. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has recently claimed that it is a civilized party, but what it does on the ground is totally different.

"The president (Bingu wa Mutharika) must publicly condemn these incidents if he is indeed a true democrat otherwise people will continue to doubt his democratic credentials should he choose to turn a blind eye and deaf ear," Mwenye said.

Suspected DPP members are suspected to have torched Sembereka's house as a way of venting anger on him for being critical of a creeping dictatorship under Mutharika.

Sembereka is one of the leading human rights activists who organized the July 20 mass demonstrations against the deteriorating social, political and economic order in Malawi.

The Anglican cleric is also executive director of the Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living or Affected with HIV and Aids.

Apart from the two 'torching' incidents, two days before the July 20 protests, a Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) vehicle was also burnt in Lilongwe.

No arrests have been made so far in connection with all these incidents but Balaka police spokesperson Titani Chidwala told Nyasa Times on Monday that they will work "very hard" to bring the Balaka arsonists to book.

Nyasa Times 13 Sep, 2011

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Source: http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/mcp-udf-pp-condemn-house-torching/
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