Mutharika Not Against Demonstrations, Promotes Peaceful protests

President Peter Mutharika has said his government has not banned and is not against demonstrations as long as they are peaceful.

Mutharika said this during an exclusive interview with an international media the British Broadcasting Corporation (BCC) on Monday.

For the past weeks the organizers of Anti-Ansah demonstrations Human Rights defenders Coalition (HRDC) have been facing hiccups from the government restraining them from holding the protests.

Each time HRDC took to the street they meet injunctions stopping them from exercising their constitutional right.

“We haven’t banned demonstrations. My Government is not against these demonstrations,” Mutharika said.

He continued; “I support, I am one of the framers of this constitution. I am a comparative constitutional lawyer myself. I believe in the rule of law,”

“The constitution does not allow violent demonstrations. You have seen the destruction. That is taking place. A number of government buildings burned; total destroyed; people injured, 500 people severely injured.,” he said.

Mutharika added that he is hoping to see Malawians exercising their constitutional right in a peaceful way.

“we accept peaceful demonstrations they have been going on for the last five years and we want to continue; that’s part of democracy,” he said.

HRDC and other stakeholders have been organizing demonstrations in the country calling for Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah despite declaring that the protests would be peaceful they always turn out to be violent.