Former President Lazarus Chakwera
* There’s a lot of economic vandalism the MCP administration committed, which could result in big court cases, but dogs? No — don’t distract the nation
* Apolisi 20 galu m’modzi? Don’t misuse national resources like that. Go after them for real cases, not jokes
By Duncan Mlanjira
It has been reported that around 13hrs this afternoon, about 80 Malawi Police officers invaded former President Lazarus Chakwera’s Area 6 residence in Lilongwe in search of four German shepherd dogs, which are alleged to have disappeared from the State House and suspected to have been taken by the former President.
The case of the missing dogs involves former State House deputy chief of staff, Godfrey Arthur Jalale, who was arrested for and is appearing before Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe.
Former State House deputy chief of staff, Godfrey Jalale
Jalale’s lawyer Khwima Mchizi applied for bail yesterday challenging the State’s request for further detention of his client, saying investigators had already breached the 48-hour rule as Jalale was arrested on Friday and was only brought before court on Tuesday.
Senior Resident Magistrate Robert Botha reserved his ruling on both the bail application and the State’s request for continued detention for today.
The invasion of Chakwera’s residence — acting on a search warrant issued by the Lilongwe Magistrate Court — is linked to the missing dogs which are alleged to be government property but according to some social media reports, Chakwera’s residence staff presented documents showing that the four dogs were personally purchased by the former President from Israel.
“According to the paperwork, the dogs were not State House property, and Jalale took them because they belonged to the former President, not the government — in short, nothing was stolen,” says a report on social media.
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When contacted yesterday by NationOnline, deputy national police public relations officer, Alfred Chimnthere asked for time to find out details on the matter before responding — raising questions why the police are skirting away from the incident and why such a large police team of 80 officers was deployed to the home of a former Head of State over a matter that appears to be based on incorrect information.
Several asked for the office of the Inspector General of Police to publicly explain why a former Head of State is being treated this way, saying when invading a house of a person of such a stature, the are supposed to be informed and to bring documentation.
“If it’s about an issue we hear is in the court, they should tell us, because this is not on,” said a social media commentator — while another hinted that “with the documentation now confirming ownership, legal experts say Jalale may end up being compensated for wrongful arrest and prosecution”.
“Did the dogs appear in government’s inventory?” asked another. “I don’t expect a civilised government to act on rumours — it’s barbaric!”
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Social media influencer, Onjezani Kenani wrote on his Facebook page: “There’s a lot of economic vandalism [the MCP administration] committed, which could result in big court cases, but dogs? No — don’t distract the nation.
“Ndiye mpaka 80 policemen, nkhani yake agalu anayi? Apolisi 20 galu m’modzi (such a huge entourage of 80 police officers? One dog for 20 officer?). Don’t misuse national resources like that — go after them for real cases, not jokes.”
Several people hinted that there is more to this than just the disappearance of the shepherd dogs, which were bought at K4 million, hinting that the law enforcement are investigating something else but that the dog issue “is just a propaganda by Malawi Congress Party media “to buy public sympathy”.
Thus the office of the IG being asked to be transparent since it involves the Head of State and to verify if indeed the dogs are State property.
