by Jimmy Nseera, Malawi, June 1997
THEME = SOCIAL ACTION
Mr.Michael Nazombe is 26. He's a university graduate and now a teacher. Last year, in his absence, thieves broke into his home at Kamuzu Academy, Kasungu, Central region, and stole a number of valuable objects. Worse still - they spread poison in the porridge flour stored in a basket in his kitchen. Ignorant of what they'd done, Nazombe cooked himself a meal using the poisoned flour. Immediately after eating the meal he started vomiting and finally fainted. The school staff rushed him to Kasungu Government Hospital, five kilometres from the Academy. The doctors found out from the diagnosis that the young man had been poisoned. Luckily, Nazombe recovered from the accident, but he isn't the same man. His thinking has slowed down, and his judgement impaired. Now he's out for revenge. He says: "If I catch anyone else pinching my possessions, I'll burn him alive!" (Many people suspected of being involved in robberies, when caught by a crowd, fall victim to what can best be described as "mob justice", frequently by being burned alive.
Early last year, a Catholic diocesan priest, Father Lucius Chikwawa, was shot and badly wounded by thieves who broke into his rectory in the rural area. After a couple of weeks, the police captured a bunch of law breakers who were suspects in the case. Father Chikwawa was called to a police line-up, and he identified one person from the group. Last January, I was told by a man working with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that the man identified by the priest had fled the country whilst on bail. Nothing was ever reported in the Press about this case. It is a fact that remand prisoners and others have escaped from custody by jumping over the prison wall or chiselling through it.
Some people attribute the crimewave to misinterpreting the word "democracy". They think that democracy is "do things anyhow and without moral principles". About 70% of Malawi's eleven million people are illiterate; 60% of the population live below the poverty line; many are unemployed especially young people. Small wonder they turn to crime to make ends meet.
President Bakili Muluzi deplores the sequence of violent events in the country. He says that the general public has taken the law in their hands because of frustration. There aren't enough policemen to combat the crime wave. (There are about 6,000 policemen in Malawi). Since the law enforcement agencies cannot adequately maintain the situation, the British Government has been invited to instruct the local police.
The Malawi Institute of Democratic and Economic Affairs (MIDEA) has expressed its disappointment over the crimes. In a statement released recently in Lilongwe, MIDEA says people are murdered daily, women are raped, houses are broken into and car theft is on the increase. There is increase insecurity in the country. MIDEA's Executive Director, Shyley Kondowe is very concerned: "The freedom that the people of Malawi fought for, is at stake because of the current insecure situation."
The Malawi Police Force has accepted the fact that there is a highly organised and technically sophisticated criminal organisation in this country. Mr Patrick Chikapa, who is Inspector General of Police, is clear on this point: "Unfortunately, Malawi has an element of the criminal fraternity who use advanced technology in committing crimes". The public believe that some policemen accept bribes to enable criminals to operate freely.
A worrying fact is that some crimes are perpetrated to stop the government from achieving its development programme to alleviate poverty in society.
END