By Burnett Munthali
Today we take a look at the unlawful arrest and detention of Layton Yousuf Mangochi by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) which has gone viral on social media, mainstream media, WhatsApp, and Facebook. The arrest and detention of Mangochi was unlawful because Malawi Defence Force is a complainant in which they complained to Malawi Police Service against Yousuf Mangochi for the video he released.
Layton Yousuf Mangochi
According to Layton Yousuf Mangochi, he was sleeping when at around 03:00 am Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Malawi Defence Force (MDF) came to arrest him at his house. He asked to dress up and was kicked by army officers just after wearing a pair of trousers before he could even put on his shirt.
He was thrown into a Land Cruiser like a bag of charcoal without a shirt. The soldiers fixed a cap on his head and made fun of him. A senior officer ahead of the arresting team came to Mangochi ‘s rescue and warned that he should not be tortured in any way.
Layton was driven to Chilumba Barracks at full speed. Upon arrival, he was instructed to crawl on his knees but the senior officer leading the arresting team came again to his rescue and allowed him to walk normally.
Yousuf Mangochi explained that soldiers checked him in the cell every after five minutes and many rude remarks were made against him. Some of the comments include that soldiers wanted him to repeat what he had been saying in all his videos before his arrest to which he asked the soldiers to replay the videos since they were already on their respective phones.
He was accused of being politically connected for the videos he has been producing which he refused. MDF soldiers teased Layton that he was a poor man living in a house that was not fenced. I feel very sorry for the soldiers because their houses in the military barracks are very tiny and old-fashioned boxes and are not fenced either. They live in the open but they take the courage to tease someone who lives in his own house because it’s not fenced. Shame!
According to Layton Yousuf Mangochi, MDF Military Police took him out of the military cells for interrogations.
MDF did not hand Mangochi to Malawi Police Service after abducting him and putting him under military arrest and detention. It must be known from today onwards that it is only the Police who arrest people for committing crimes. Anyone who arrests and detains another person breaks the law, this includes the MDF.
The main reason behind the arrest of Layton Yousuf Mangochi was due to the audio he released in which he condemned the Chilumba Barracks roadblock and the inconvenience it creates for people. In his audio, he accuses MDF soldiers of Chilumba Barracks Road Block of getting bribes through intimidation from the general public. According to Mangochi, Malawians someones get whipped like animals at Chilumba Barracks Roadblock.
He was forced to apologize to MDF soldiers for releasing the video which spoke against Chilumba Barracks Roadblock. The soldiers later drove him to Chilumba Police for statement recording. He was given some money to buy a drink at Chilumba Police Station.
Last Word
The last word from Layton Yousuf Mangochi is that he now fears for his life is in danger after this arrest by Malawi Defence Force. He thinks anything may happen to silence him anytime. Whatever he said in the video while he was in custody was released under intimidation and not out of his free will. He did it for his own freedom and life and must be ignored.
Then Frederick of Capital Radio interrupted and cut the line and Layton Yousuf Mangochi could not finish his last word. I disliked the manner in which the reporter handled this part of the interview. He was trying to please someone and I think he was trying to please the MDF soldiers, however, that shouldn’t have been the case.
MDF Spokesperson Major Emmanuel Mlelemba
When it was time for Major Emmanuel Mlelemba, MDF Spokesperson to respond, he didn’t show up on the program. It was reported that he was engaged with duties although he had agreed to be present on the radio.
My opinion is that this was a deliberate move by MDF to dodge the media. The Malawi Defence Force knew they had nothing to say in their defense and they avoided being embarrassed.
HRCC
Robert Mkwezakemba, who was featured on the Liwu Langa program on Capital Radio agreed that the statement which was released and circulated on social media on Layton Mangochi is for the HRCC. He said soldiers are always not friendly people whenever they perform their duties with the public.
He condemned their duties and responsibilities as unconstitutional and undemocratic.
Chilumba Barracks complained to Malawi Police Service about the released audio. It is unlawful for a complainant to arrest the person they were complaining against and detain him under the military. It’s unconstitutional and against human rights. Unconstitutional to arrest people in the wee hours from their homes.
Everyone and every department must be held accountable for his or their actions and this includes the Malawi Defence Force, they are not above the law.
What is the legitimacy of the MDF roadblock at Chilumba? This Roadblock is illegal and unnecessary to the people of Malawi. It is inconveniencing many innocent road users for nothing but abuse of authority and power.
We have neighboring countries who share international boundaries with Malawi but you won’t find this nonsense of soldiers inconveniencing civilians on the roads. Malawi is not at war so let the soldiers stay in their camps or peacekeeping missions and do their job there.
Government must stop using the army doing Police duties including during demonstrations. They are even disrupting the normal flow of business because of unnecessary roadblocks.
Malawians must know that MDF follows a chain of command, therefore, the army commander and the President are aware of the arrest of Mr Mangochi. Unfortunately, we cannot call this the role of law, it is in fact a break of the law.
MDF doesn’t have powers to detain civilians in their military base/camps/cells except for prisoners of war and Layton Yousuf Mangochi is not a prisoner of war. You cannot be a complainant, the police, the courts, and prison at the same time, it doesn’t work like that. That’s why we have the division of labor in order to avoid monopolizing and compromising justice.
MDF got it wrong on this one and it must not happen again but a step further must be taken on this matter.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor.
