Anti-bribery protest hits Malawi over election petition case

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Malawi on Thursday to protest against corruption.

It’s a movement that began after the country’s supreme court chief justice accused five judges overseeing a legal challenge to President Peter Mutharika’s re-election last year of taking bribes.

The complaint, which was filed with the Anti-Corruption Bureau on Monday, prompted a call for demonstrations in Malawi’s three main cities, bringing together nearly 50,000 people in the capital Lilongwe.

Timothy Mtambo chairs the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) in Lilongwe.

“We are going to come back to the streets and we are going to demand the head of Mr. Matemba, the head of the anti-corruption bureau to say he should resign because it will be clear that he is not ready to address this issue”, he said.

“I am going to march the entire route because I want justice to be seen. We cast our votes on 21 May but it is evident that the votes were stolen, so we are fighting for justice”, Angess Banda said.

Opposition leaders say the 21 May poll, which saw Mutharika narrowly defeat the second candidate, Lazarus Chakwera, was marred by fraud.

In August, they asked Malawi’s highest court to annul the results. It’s a first time the presidential election results have been legally challenged since the country gained independence from Britain in 1964.

AFP