At least 33 people were arrested in Malawi during protests, including the people who planned them, because authorities said they were trying to start violence.
Protesters were enraged by rising living costs and government corruption, and the demonstrations began in Blantyre and Zomba on Thursday before moving to the capital city of Lilongwe on Friday.
They argue that cabinet ministers and high government officials who are already under investigation for corruption should be investigated rather than fired or forced to retire.
Agriculture Minister Lobin Lowe and his deputy, Madalitso Wirima, were sacked earlier this week by the president for suspected ineptitude and neglect.
The presidency says that the agriculture ministry did not follow the right procedures when it tried to buy fertiliser from a British company. The company has now asked Malawi for a commission charge of about $725,000 (£627,000), even though the contract has been cancelled.
The government is currently paying this amount despite receiving nothing in return. Several Malawian newspapers, notably the Nyasa Times and the Times of Malawi, claim the government was tricked. The corporation has not responded publicly to the allegations.
Despite the arrests of demonstrators, additional anti-government rallies are planned in Mzuzu, Malawi’s northernmost city.
