BINGU'S PRIVATE ARMY?

BINGU’S PRIVATE ARMY

Now we know it. The Malawi Police Force is Bingu’s private army. Our President appears to be both paranoid and delusional - what a dangerous combination. It is perhaps fortunate that the people of Malawi do not share his delusions.

The delusion is that the power of the president is limitless; that his word is law.

 He is paranoid because he sees enemies everywhere. What he overlooks is the fact that his own actions have made enemies of his former friendsand supporters .

And the latest indications of delusion came from his lips – once again! As reported in the Sunday Times of March 20 at a ceremony to open a new factory he said:

“Once again, let me repeat that the Inspector General works for the Government and I am the Commander in Chief of Police.  If you ask the Inspector General to apologise, you are asking me, the President, to apologise. I want you Malawians to reflect on this: Can a president apologise to an NGO or a university lecturer? What kind of a country is that?”

Mr. President, when people make mistakes, it is expected of them that they will apologise. When public officials, such as the Inspector General of Police, make mistakes it is imperative for the continuance of public confidence in them and their organisation that they not only to apologise for the mistake but also  assure the public or the offended parties that there will be no repeat of the mistake.

You ask what sort of a country is it that demands an apology from a president. Simple – it is the country that we envisaged when we removed the dictatorship of Dr. Banda and his cruel party and state apparatus of oppression - the type of country that we defined in our Constitution.

You are mistaken, Mr. President, to believe that you are Commander-in-Chief of the Police Force (now misnamed ‘Service’). Mr. President, you swore  falsely on the Holy Bible when you took the oath of office. Had you really intended to defend and protect the Constitution you would have noted that the Police is constituted as an “… independent organ of the executive..” The Constitution is to be interpreted in a simple manner. It is clear that the executive has no part to play in its OPERATIONS as defined in Section 153.  And – here’s something that you may not be aware of – there is no mention of a Commander-in-Chief. And you do not have the power to appoint yourself to the non-existent post.

Your reference to a Commander-in-Chief was a Freudian slip. You were obviously confusing the Police with the Army where you are constituted in that capacity. Your error is excusable because both you and your predecessor have suborned the Police Force and turned it into a private army of oppression.

The Police are the second of our constitutionally independent bodies to have been emasculated, the other being the Electoral Commission whose closure is a continuing crime.

Let me remind you, Mr. President, that the presidency operates under very strict constitutional controls. Your word is not law. Your recent pronouncements on things such as pre-conditions for demonstrations are illegal. Laws and regulations have to be effected by due process. Anything that requires your direction has to be formalised by your signature over the official seal. Let us see the paperwork.

At the same ceremony, you are reported to have said that you were waiting for Malawi human rights activists to return from the United Nations, where they went to petition the UN to take action against you and those close to you, so that they should ‘explain’ to you the contents of the petition. Is that the sort of explanation that Mukhito demanded of Blessings Chinsinga? Are you about to repeat the same inexcusable error? Mr. President, no-one need to explain anything to you.Their petition has already been made public. If you missed it, your intelligence service should have it on record or you could ask our representative at the United Nations to brief you. What other explanation could you expect? Or do you want to berate them in one of your famous 'listening' meetings?

What they have done is part of the process of:-

KEEPING YOU HONEST

You are accountable to us. We are not accountable to you. We are accountable to the law. Otherwise we are free to conduct our lives in any way we wish without interference from the executive.

You must account to us. Can you explain your apparent sudden rise to wealth? Will you take us on a tour of Ndata Farm?  Can you explain to us how the businesses of those close to you have grown so miraculously? Has a state-owned bank overstretched itself to be accommodating? 

When Malawi chose a multi-party and democratic system it was not like rival supporters of Premiership football teams putting in power their favoured team and the paying scarce money at the gate to watch the players earn K40m per week. But that is what it seems like. Both you and your predecessor wasted no time in embarking on lavish personal housing projects. And we are sitting like the paying spectators expected to cheer you on! We are waiting to find out how your predecessor did it. But would like to know right now how you are managing. Please be kind enough to reassure us that our assets are safe in your hands.

THE SQUEEZE

In your paranoia you have been calling out our development partners for undermining your presidency. They are the same partners who assisted our nascent democracy. They are the same partners who are helping us to strengthen that democracy. Now that you have demonstrated to civil society and our development partners that you have no concern for our democracy, for constitutionality or the rule of law, we are happy to learn that those same partners have now resolved to make more funds available to civil society to protect and strengthen our democracy.

The squeeze is on. Civil society, the churches and development partners are putting on the pressure. Eventually, you will be unable to resist. Why is it that dictators believe that they are immune to the inevitable?

I urge you, Mr. President, to sit back and reflect seriously on the path that you have chosen. 
There is time for you to reform and deliver to the owners the nation trhat you promised.

ANCIENT ENGLISH LAWS USED TO OPPRESS

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS USE THESE LAWS -THE POLICE 'BIBLE'

Whenever our Police  need to oppress the people and they can't find the requisite offence they  fall back on two based on oppressive and outmoded English Laws.
1)   Conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace
2)   Rogue and vagabond
There are many laws  that would appear to be out of line with our Republican Constitution. There are so many of them that the Law Commission does not have the resources to see which can be repealed and which should be retained or amended. In the meantime the Police continue to use these 'useful' catch-all tools. Unfortunately, most of those who are arrested by the Police are unaware of their rights and those who do understand find that they will be burdened with massive legal charges to obtain their freedom or claim damages from the State.
The photograph of me in the hands of the Police that appears on my blog in the right column relates to a peaceful demonstration that was illegally broken up by the Police before it could really begin.
The photo at the head of the blog is not one that people are so familiar with. Here's the story. Large numbers of demonstrators had collected at the Old Town Hall ready to march. I informed the crowd that I was sure that the Police would open fire and release tear gas. My instructions were that they should not run away but just lie flat until the gas cleared. I took the first step and all hell broke loose. Gunshots and tear gas. Following my own advice I lay down and waited for the smoke to drift away. And when I looked up there were only six of us left - Emmie Chanika, Rev. Gunya, Ian Nankhuni, Kamuzu Chibambo, an anonymous Catholic lay brother and me. Everyone else fled only to be attacked by a mob of UDF hooligans (assisted by the Police) hiding in ambush.
In the photo the Police are putting Emmie into the Land Rover, Rev Gunya and Ian Nankhuni were also arrested. The Police then attempted to arrest the three of us who remained. Kamuzu refused saying he was a lawyer and knew his rights. The Catholic brother escaped their attention. Then they tried to arrest me. I demanded to know why I was being arrested. I was told "We'll tell you at the Police Station." to which I replied that I would not go unless I was given the reason there and then. Eventually the policeman lost the struggle - with a gun in  one hand and a 98kg man in the other it was too much for him..
Chanika, Gunya and Nankhuni were taken to Blantyre Police where they were charged with - what else - conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace. The truth is, of course, that the Police breached the peace! They were released, bailed on their own surety. The Polcie were happy that they had used (abused) the law to remove leaders from the street. Some ten years later the case has yet to come to court!
The Police continue to rely on these 'elastic' provisions as tools. Unfortunately, they get away with it. But it does not enhance their reputation as a SERVICE.
For those of you who would like to look into the matter further read on. I have not attempted to paraphrase. Full links are give for deeper reading:

Arrest at Common Law for Breach of the Peace

A breach of the peace is not in itself a criminal offence, but the police and any other person have a power of arrest where there are reasonable grounds for believing a breach of the peace is taking place or is imminent. The Court of Appeal defined a breach of the peace as being ‘an act done or threatened to be done which either actually harms a person, or in his presence, his property, or is likely to cause such harm being done’ – see R v Howell. This power of arrest will, of course, be closely scrutinised in connection with Article 5 (the right to liberty and security), Article 10 (the right to freedom of expression) and Article 11 (the right to freedom of assembly and association).

Vagrancy Laws

Vagrants Laws

Are you an “idle and disorderly person”, “rogue or vagabond”, or “incorrigible rogue”? If so, the Poor Laws passed from the late sixteenth century were there to make sure you were punished or controlled. If you fell on hard times in a strange place you could be imprisoned then sent back to your place of settlement, after having to explain to the local authorities how you came to be there.

http://www.ancestryaid.co.uk/boards/history-board/8293-vagrancy-laws.html

http://www.ancestryaid.co.uk/boards/history-board/8293-vagrancy-laws.html

A vagabond or “drifter” is an itinerant person. The word is derived from the Latin adjective vagabundus, “inclined to wander”, from the verb vagor, “wander”. It does not denote a member of a nomadic people, but rather an individual who follows a wandering lifestyle within a sedentary society. Such people may be called drifters, tramps, or rogues. A vagabond is characterized by almost continuous travelling, lacking a fixed home, temporary abode, or permanent residence. Vagabonds are not bums, as bums are not known for travelling, preferring to stay in one location.^[1]
In the law of England, the Vagrancy Act 1824 provides that “every person wandering abroad and lodging in any barn or outhouse, or in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any cart or waggon, [...] and not giving a good account of himself or herself [...] shall be deemed a rogue and vagabond,” and may be imprisoned for up to three months on conviction by a magistrate.^[2] This act is still in force, though extensively amended by subsequent legislation. The expression nevertheless goes much further back in English law: following the Peasants' Revolt, constables were authorised under a 1383 statute^{[citation needed]} to apprehend vagabonds and force them to show their means of support; if they could not, they were jailed.^[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagabond_%28person%29

VAGRANCY

Vagrancy is the state of homelessness, vagabondage. Formerly, in English law the term was applied to various classes of idle and disorderly persons. The principal Act in this connexion was the Vagrancy Act, 1824, extended in certain directions by Vagrancy Acts of 1838, 1873, and 1878, and further amended by the Casual Poor Act, 1882, and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1912.
Three classes of vagrants were recognized by the law: (1) Idle and disorderly persons ; (2) rogues and vagabonds ; (3) incorrigible rogues. The sentence on conviction varied from one month for the first class, to one year's imprisonment for the third.
cy

http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com/A_VAGRANCY.HTM

This is the section for disorderly conduct in Pennsylvania.

5503. Disorderly conduct. (From an American Police Website)

(a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if, with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he:
(1)engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous behavior;
(2)makes unreasonable noise;
(3)uses obscene language, or makes an obscene gesture; or
(4)creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor.

http://www.realpolice.net/forums/ask-cop-112/46162-idle-disorderly.html

Absurd Vagrancy Act must go

Young Bailey, June 3rd 2005

In England, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Houses of Parliament passed four acts to "cope" specifically with the issue of "vagrancy" - in 1824, 1838, 1898 and 1935. All of these acts of parliament have now, sensibly, been repealed. That is, apart from the oldest one. It is 2005 and in England, legislation that is almost 200 years old and unbearably connected to the prejudices and misconceptions of a previous age, is alive and well: the Vagrancy Act 1824. The 1824 legislation would almost be poetic if it were not so absurd. Its purpose is to "punish idle and disorderly persons, and rogues and vagabonds". Those people who "beg in a public place", who "refuse to maintain themselves", are deemed to be idle and disorderly. To be "idle and disorderly" is a criminal offence and could result in a fine. Individuals who have already been castigated as "idle and disorderly" and then go on to "wander abroad", "lodge in the open air, or under a tent" or "endeavour to expose their wounds or deformities to gather alms", are incorrigible rogues and vagabonds, of course. However, if a person can "give a good account of himself or herself" then all may be forgiven, but failure to do so could mean, in 2005, a three-month prison sentence. More important than a possible prison sentence under this law, perhaps, is that within English law, an "idle and disorderly person" can be branded a criminal. I am often idle and frequently disorderly and I quite enjoy lodging under a tent. Only very rarely can I give a good account of myself. Under our law, I think that makes me a criminal

http://www.thepavement.org.uk/story.php?story=459

The next link is a facsimile of the original English Vagrancy law. Be warned - it is about 400 kb and will not suit a slow connection. 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1824/83/pdfs/ukpga_18240083_en.pdf

ARE ALL IDLE MALAWIANS ROGUES AND VAGABONDS

POLICE SWEEP THE STREETS OF BLANTYRE
Reports are coming in  that the Police have swept the streets of Blantyre of all Idle and Disorderly persons. I do not have the exact wording of the law in front of me as I write but my memory tells me that an idle person is one who has no visible means of support. I guess that someone who is hanging around town apparently with nothing to do and with no visible means of support will have regular places of abode and a ready explanation as to how he supports himself. That does not mean that he has to be in paid employment in a country where a significant percentage of people are either in the informal sector or sustain themselves by semi-subsistance agriculture. Many millions in Malawi are forced by circumstances to move around on foot without even a tambala in their pockets. They are POOR. There are many just hanging around  looking for an opportunity for a little 'ganyu' (task work) or are actively seeking employment. Poverty and unemployment are not yet criminal offences in Malawi.
Like 'Behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace', the 'Rogue and Vagabond' charge is one that is regularly abused by the Police who, in the belief that they should be seen to be doing something, round up people at night including prostitutes who quite clearly do have some visible means of support.
We have millions of unemployed school-leavers who have nothing to do all day but hang around with their friends. There are very little outlets for their energies. There is not much hope in many of them that they will ever find a decent paying job. Towns are places where things are moving; where there is more of interest than in the back alleys of an informal township. Towns naturally attract the idle. There's always something happening that can keep the idle entertained for free.
THE EMPLOYED, THE INDIGENT, THE POOR - all Malawians have every right to be on the streets of our cities, day or night. But just see how the Police treat a group of youths walking through the town at night.  And, as long as these people behave themselves, there is no reason for the Police to harrass them.
It is unfortunate that the Police paint a picture of these peope as mbava (criminals) demanding of them an explanation.At night the town belongs only to the rich who can afford to visit by car.No nightime  'window shopping' that is the norm for most cities throughout the world.
No doubt among the crowds of the idle there are numerous crooks. But the Police have to do their job properly and observe and trap those that theys suspect. Fishing with a big net is not the right thing to do. A hook withe tempting bait is what should be used. An effective Police force should be able to rid the streets of the crooks without enadangering the freedoms of the innocent.
There was a reprot on Facebook today that a poor woman selling bananas with her child strapped to her back was swept up an taken away. The City has the responsibility for keeping vendors off the street. To do so they must be consistent and constant. Our authorities should note that a frustrated street vendor in Tunis set himself on fire in protest at the way the authorities handled him. This small spark set off wildfires in most of the undemocratic and oppressive states in North Africa and the Middel east.
I was not aware of what was going on when I saw Police and the public in some sort of altercation opposite the MSB Bank where for years I have seen a group of apparently idle persons who seem to clock on and clock off duty with the regularity of the hourly paid worker. I regularly exchange banter with them - we are all people of the Blantyre streets. I have often wondered what they do. Why pick them up now? I have often suspected that they are involved in businesses that may not be strictly legal. I woud have thought that in all the years that they have been 'operating' from their office on the streets, the Pollice should have ascertained whether they are actually criminally active or not - and act accordingly. They should not rely on a catch-all and irrelevant law - a throwback to a British law that was designed, I guess, to oppress the poor.
Police propoganda, however, appears to be working. It is working because they do not tell the whole truth. On a phone-in programme on Capital Radio last night the majority of those who phoned insupported the Police action. Unfortunately, this reaction merely reinforces teh impression amongst the general public that the Police have unlimited powers.
Malova (unemployed - 'loafers') will be with us until the economy can be moulded by our Economic Engineer to provide employment or opportunities for the unemployed.

YOU'RE NO LONGER OUR VALENTINE, MR. PRESIDENT!

President Mutharika's statement at his party's recent Valentine Fundraising dinner illustrates why he is no longer our Valentine. The 2004 election was our engagement and all was sweet. 2009 was the wedding. Like many love-affairs it could not survive the marriage!
After two weeks of silence while the people and the economy of Malawi suffered due to the most severe shortage of fuel in the country's recent history, all that he could say - and that in direct contradiction of what his own minister had told us - was that it was due to congestion at all of the ports serving Malawi. These are the ports that we have been using for decades. Of course, the President has not done anything to make things sweet between us and our neighbours.  They are rather tired of being blamed for all our woes knowing full well that our Government is trying to shift the blame for its incompetence and broken policies.
It seems that he was stung into belated action by the news that Malawi's main Human Rights organisations plan to march on parliament in Lilongwe today, Valentine's Day. Instead of making a balanced assessment of the problem and stating what he and his government were doing to rectify things, as one would expect of a 'Professor' (albeit an honorary one) he set out to lecture Mavuto Bamusi, the principal co-ordinator of the protest. He also made unsubstantiated allegations against Bamusi in person stating that he was acting only to please the donors in order to obtain funding. It would have been better for his image had he maintained his protracted silence.
Mr. President, let me remind you once again that without the actions of the NGOs Bakili Muluzi would have become President for Life and you would have been a public nonentity. But power and position swell heads. It is obvious that you have lost touch with reality. Continue to live in your cloud cuckoo land where your every wish becomes a reality - in your dreams. All around us we see that your much lauded 'success' has been based on lies fed to you by sycophantic politicians and senior civil servants. For the sake of the future of this nation, and I say this as one old man to another, let us bequeath something better to our progeny. Wake up to reality and get on with the job that we elected you to do! Admit your mistakes. Llisten to your people.
It is 7 a.m., one hour before the demonstration is due to start in Lilongwe. I hear that the City Council have 'forbidden' the march. The City Council has no such power. Furthermore, they are illegitimate having been appointed and not elected as our Constitution demands.
Our Constitution gives us the right to assemble and demonstrate peacefully and unarmed. The High Court has frequently upheld this right. I hope that the demonstrators are prepared to march even though, I guess, that THE PRESIDENT'S Police FORCE (not our Police Service) will do all in its power to prevent it.