LILONGWE—A raid involving over a dozen police officers on the home of a youth leader of the former ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) produced nothing on Monday, prompting the party’s secretary general, Wakuda Kamanga, to sharply criticise Home Affairs Minister Uladi Mussa, saying he is inept.

“This is coming from Mussa,” said Kamanga. “He’s incompetent.”

But Mussa stood his ground.

“I was in opposition. The DPP gave guns and pangas to youth cadets. I saw a cadet with a gun, that’s a fact,” said Mussa.

Kamanga said the government shouldn’t be harassing and intimidating people who haven’t broken any laws.

He wondered: “How can a security minister [say] DPP has guns and not investigate and arrest those with guns?”

“Police,” said Mussa, “Went to search based on information they had gathered.”

At the crack of dawn Monday, armed police stormed into the home of DPP Central Region Youth Director Lameck Malimba in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.

Malimba, shaken, said police told him they were looking for guns.

“They didn’t find anything,” he said.

Police, who have stepped up efforts to combat crime, couldn’t shed any light on the development only saying they would look into it.

But DPP has complained that its officials are being unfairly targeted by the new PP regime.

DPP, whose leader Pres Bingu wa Mutharika was fast becoming a despot, lost power in April following his unexpected death. He was succeeded by Joyce Banda who was vice president - but she’d been sacked from the DPP over its instance that Mutharika’s brother should be his successor in 2014 -  to finish the remainder of his term.

When the DPP was in power, Mutharika would urge supporters to protect him from his critics and youth cadets were seen as the eyes and ears of the regime.

On the eve of nationwide anti-government protests last year in July, the goons came out in droves, brandishing pangas as they rode in DPP vehicles, threatening to deal with anyone who dared to protest against Mutharika and his government.

Malimba, the DPP youth leader, on Monday said Malawians should get along and not intimidate each other. Mussa, the home affairs minister, said police were just carrying out their duties.
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment.