Police in Malawi have used tear gas to disperse thousands of anti corruption protesters that marched on the streets of the capital, Lilongwe, against rising graft in government.
The protesters, led by a group known as Citizens Against Impunity and Corruption is spearheaded by Joshua Chisa Mbele.
The protest was initially planned for March 2, but the district council withdrew the permission.
The protestors fired stones at the District Council’s offices with prompting the police response.
“It was a deliberate ploy to fire teargas to scatter the crowd” accused Mbele.
Social critic and Fulbright Scholar Idriss Nassah says anti corruption agencies of government must do better than pay lip service to the fight against graft.
The organiser of the march also left a word of warning to the District Commissioner.
“We wanted to say to the district commissioner, don’t be on the wrong side of the equation. Our concerns here are bigger, they concern all Malawians, people in the villages. Even the police officers themselves who are firing the teargas, they are affected by the issue that we are raising here”, added Mbele.
The organisers promised more demonstrations against individuals thought to be involved in graft or highhandedness within the country’s institutions.