Malawi Violence: July 20 - What I Witnessed

Minute-to-minute Account of July 20 Demonstrations

by Kondwani Munthali

Edited by Malawi2014
30 July 2011

To all those who lost their lives, may their souls rest in peace
Sources: Text: http://munthalikondwani.blogspot.com/2011/07/malawi-violence-july-20-what-i.html Photos: Various internet sites including: http://www.zodiakmalawi.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Capital-Radio-Malawi-LTD/87917393521 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Towards-Malawi-Elections-2014/139018072837940 http://www.flickr.com/photos/malawi2014/

Introduction July 20 will go down into the history of Malawi as the day 18 Malawians lost their lives in the fight for true democracy. The national demonstrations, organized by civil society organizations, were marred by violence. Kondwani Munthali presents a personal account of the events leading to the day and the actual days events. Sunday July 17: A vehicle belonging to Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) is smashed in broad daylight by seven masked men with hammers and panga knives. A colleague, who is at the scene, calls me and gives me details. ZBS confirms Monday July 18: Another ZBS vehicle is torched at around 11pm. I am called by colleagues at the station around midnight. Tuesday July 19: DPP Youth Cadets are seen in Malawis commercial city, Blantyre, brandishing machetes in public. This is, under the laws of Malawi, an offence as machetes are considered as dangerous weapons. Police take no action.

1:00am: A source calls saying one Chiza Mbekeani has been granted an injunction to stop the demonstrations. I confirm the same with court clerks after doubting its authenticity. I ask them to drop it at Area 18 Filling Station as they insist on getting it to me at night. 04:15am: I arrive in town with a colleague Brian Satha who will be taking videos for Maravipost.com. There is heavy presence of police. Police sources tell me they have been ordered to stop the demonstrations due to the injunction obtained by Chiza Mbekeani. 04:32am: Ali Mwachande of Malawi Network of Religious Leaders Living or Personally Affected by HIV and Aids (Manerela+) calls me that their vehicle carrying a public address (PA) system has been detained by police as it was heading to the start-up venue. I rush to the scene where Ali, National Organization of Nurses of Malawi (NONM) officer Iliyaas Itimu and Gift Trapence of Centre for the Development of People (Cedep) are. 05:02am: I speak to Mwachande and later take his picture. Police advise Trapence to go to the station but not head towards the starting area. As I try to take a shot of police negotiating with Trapence, a police officer confiscates my camera. I call the National Police
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spokesperson Willie Mwaluka, he promises action but nothing happens. The only police officer whose name was visible is Brian Chikalakala, the rest hide their numbers and name tags. I leave the post for Lilongwe CCAP where the organizers are meeting. 05:34am: I depart Lilongwe CCAP for Lilongwe Community Centre (LCC) ground, the starting point of demonstrations where some youths have gathered. The organizers want to address the marchers about the postponement of the programme. Police stop the organizers who include Trapence, Peter Chinoko of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), Benedicto Kondowe of the Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education (CSBQE) and others before crossing to the LCC grounds. Debate heats up as police insist they should not address the group. The group is asked to go into a police vehicle. I am ordered to do the same despite my clear identification that I am a journalist. After consulting a senior officer, I am allowed to use my own vehicle. We arrive at the police station and are taken into the building. We wait for 20minutes before the Regional Commissioner of Police appears and takes the group leaders for private discussions. The discussions last for about 40 minutes and we are told, after about 55 minutes, that we are free to go. 06.52am: The Civil Society convoy leaves Lilongwe Police Station via old town to LCC. The crowds cheer and chant anti-establishment songs while following the vehicles. We arrive at LCC at 7.00am to a huge crowd of demonstrators. 07.03 am: Trapence and Malawi Congress of Trade Union secretary general Robert Mkwezalamba address the crowd, asking them to wait for a legal process as their lawyer is challenging the injunction. The crowd accepts, but demand that they remain at LCC to wait for the court process. 07.14 am: A Police officer in PMF uniform slaps Joy Radio journalist Rabecca Chimjeka, who is trying to record the protests chants. I protest to his senior and the crowd starts singing louder, asking the President to resign. 07.16am : The PMF officer-incharge asks for teargas, his juniors try to plead with him that they have no sticks and gas masks and it would be better to leave the crowd there, but the officer-in-charge tells them to shut up and orders them to chase the crowd. Billy Mayaya of CCAP Church and Society is mercilessly beaten by two PMF officers, although he was pleading with the crowd to stay quiet and go home. 07.19 am: The crowd reacts angrily to Mayayas beating and starts stoning the police. Police fire teargas and all hell breaks loose. One officer rushes to where media personnel are standing and beats up freelance journalist George Thawe on the hip four times. I shout at him that he is beating a journalist, he answers back: "We are looking for you!" We all start running towards the Calvary Family Church. Police follow the crowd, which is running away from them, without any retaliation. Police officers in a Toyota Land cruiser ask us to leave the place as we were too many journalists" which looks like we are demonstrators.
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07.34 am: In a group of about 11 journalists, we walk towards Lilongwe CCAP Church. The police are throwing teargas everywhere. We cover our faces with handkerchiefs. 07.40 am: We seek sanctuary at the Lilongwe CCAP Church and witness a police officer wearing a DPP T-Shirt and brandishing a panga knife. The police officers, who are four in total, later harass Guardian journalist Emmanuel Simpokolwe. We shout from the fence that he is a journalist working for President Bingu wa Mutharikas newspaper, and they let him go.

10.14am: I, together with several journalists including freelancer Chancy Namazunda, Emmanuel Chibwana of ZBS, George Mkandawire and three others, leave Lilongwe CCAP church for patrol of the streets, now looking like war zones of Benghazi or Misrata cities in Libya. Tyres are burning and there are huge stones all over. Police shoot in the air and the youth, estimated to be around 15, starts running away and crosses the road towards police houses. Children of police officers catch him and start beating him up mercilessly. Four heavily built officers come to the scene and join in beating him up and dragging him. He bleeds from the nose and mouth. A police vehicle arrives and the thoroughly beaten youth is chained with a police sniffer dog. We take the direction of the citys business area on Malangalanga Road. The place is quiet and officers are on patrol. As we get closer to Bwaila Hospital, we meet a group of people carrying a patient, they say police threw teargas near the hospital and nurses have abandoned the hospital. The guard at the hospital gate refuses us entry. 11.03am: A Red Cross vehicle is seen picking up a person witnesses claim was shot by the police. Police officers on duty near the Town Hall refuse to be interviewed and ask us to leave. We oblige. 11.34am: Reports of full riots in Chinsapo, Area 23 and Kawale emerge as people call from all parts of the Capital. Sources inform me that the lawyer who obtained the injunction is unlicensed. Senior DPP officials claim ignorance of the injunction. I file the same to my editors. 12.27pm: Going through Falls, Phwetekere, we arrive at Mwenyekondo Primary School, a huge crowd is emerging from the M1 main road near Biwi Triangle. We take cover at the market. We have some homemade chips and tomatoes for lunch. Water is not safe and we cannot find anything to drink.

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We walk to Biwi Triangle where over 2 000 young people have gathered. They have lifted a minibus from Lilongwe Auctioneers to the M1 road where they torch it. The Auction House belongs to the Minister of Information and Civic Education Symon Vuwa Kaunda. The mob stops us from taking photos and asks us for IDs. They are happy Zodiak and The Nation are available to cover their demonstrations, but will not allow pictures. The mob, chanting anti-Mutharika songs, torches the building down as others run away with various items including fridges and mattresses. Someone shouts police and everybody scampers to safety, but no police vehicle appears. 12.43pm: We reach Sunrise Pharmacy owned by the Mulli Group of Companies. It has been torched down and people are still taking goods away. More teargas is thrown by the police Black riot van known as nyala around Biwi/Area 22 junction. Police are said to be rushing to Area 24 where angry protestors are torching down the police station. 13.20pm: We walk back to Lilongwe CCAP compound via Mchesi town where smoke is thick and at least four Police houses have been attacked. We find a group of police officers helping their colleagues leave the area. 13.50pm: We enter our sanctuary, the Lilongwe CCAP Church compound where we find opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson Nancy Tembo, MCP deputy director of women Dorothy Chirambo and Vice-President Joyce Bandas sister Anjimile Mtila Oponyo. 14.00pm: Reports indicate that the courts have vacated the injunction and civil society leaders at the church compound want to address a press briefing on the developments. My colleague, Bright Sonani, who is at the court, says they are on their way to Police Headquarters to serve the police the same. 14.20pm: The civil society leaders agree to wait for the signed copy of the court order which arrives with pomp and cheers in a red Toyota corolla vehicle.

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14.34pm: A police nyala passes by in the main road and does not stop. It returns and passes again heading for LCC direction. 14.41pm: The civil society group starts to get organized. Journalists conduct random interviews. People come together at the main gate and police arrive, they start jumping the fence as guards refuse them entry. 14.45pm: A PMF officer asks us who we are, we say we are journalists. He says we are too many to be journalists, asking us all to go and sit down together. We are harshly put together with civil society leaders and surrounded by police pointing guns at us. The hostile police officers stop Mayaya from reading a court order, saying they do not listen to useless people and ask all of us to leave the church premises. We remind them that they said it w as not safe to be on the streets either. They start pushing us with guns to leave. We head for the main gate. As we reach the gates, a white police Toyota Land cruiser arrives with PMF and general uniformed police officers. One officer shouts: "These are the ones causing trouble, deal with them!" One young PMF officer gets a huge stick at the gate and says: "We should kill them now." Officer claims: "They are the ones torching our houses." I tell the PMF officer that some are journalists and just doing their work. He says we should isolate them and should produce IDs, but another shouts: "They are the ones causing trouble. Lets start with the ones wearing red." Pandemonium breaks out as police start kicking everybody and whipping us with guns and sticks, asking us to jump into their vehicle as we were being arrested. They say they want Undue Mwakasungula, and they take turns beating him up, one after another whipping him with gun butts I see Oponyo falling down. I also see Nancy Tembo being hit with a gun butt, two journalists are whipped side by side by one officer and I ask all journalists to run for their lives as they will be killed. I approach the officer in charge to protect us, he pushes me back: "I have been telling you since morning, and this is what you wanted." He pushes me towards the officer with a huge stick and he whips me at the back, I try to run but a police woman hits me with a gun butt at the back My colleague, photographer Amos Gumulira, is trying to climb the wall with another journalist Isaac Kambwiri of Capital Radio. It is almost 1.5 meters high. A PMF officer comes and attacks him with a gun butt. The two bleed profusely as they jump the fence. They chase me, Nankhonya and one civil society member and we make it into nearby MBC studios where we hide at a dark corner. Police have beaten thoroughly Undule, Mayaya and others and are in their vehicle. They start looking for us; I call Inspector General of Police Peter Mukhito, who immediately calls his Regional Commissioner. He in turn calls the officers to stand down. I get a call telling me Gumulira and Kambwiri are bleeding badly. I try to get a vehicle from office. A human rights activist sees them as they run away towards Mchesi. He takes them to Kamuzu Central Hospital.
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15.37pm: The Police violence has calmed down. About eight remaining journalists gather together. I advise everybody to either go home or to their offices where they will be safe. We walk in a group, but we are intercepted at Mchesi, where Police throws two teargas canisters. One almost hit a two-year-old girl who gets picked by one of the journalists for safety. On the count, almost all journalists were whipped and beaten up by Police. Those with cameras were a major target as one officer was heard saying: "Take those cameras". The fracas lasted 15 minutes and the chasing took more time as they wanted to get everybody who had been in the compound. 16.03pm: After hiding for a while, we hear the military has taken over patrols. We feel safe and start walking towards Kamuzu Central Hospital. A Daily Times vehicle picks us up. I advise those heading to Area 25 to proceed on foot after we drop them at a safe area. 16.08pm: I reach my office and feel safe for the first time since the attacks started. I feel pain at the back and headaches. I file my story in pain. Gumulira and Kambwiri arrive. Gumulira has a 5cm cut at the back of his head that has been stitched up at the hospital. The two are in more pain than I am. 16.57pm: We depart offices, wishing each other good luck and travel mercies. The pain at my back is unbearable and the headache seems to be getting worse. We try to joke, but nothing is funny. Reality sinks in that we could have been killed. 17.30 pm: I get home; my neighbours have been worried as someone told them of my beatings. We go to the hospital, there are no pain killers, and pharmacies are closed. We search for pain killers and we get them from a neighbor. The relief is obvious among the well-wishers. Family, friends and colleagues call one after another. I have been talking to Amnesty International and Committee for Protection of Journalists in London and New York, respectively. International media is calling; everybody wants to know why the journalists were attacked. 19.30 pm: I go to bed, with splitting headaches, but the mind pain is very much alive. Images of people being tear-gassed, shot and beaten. My mind starts asking if this is part of the legacy President Mutharika would like to leave.

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