Africa-Press – Malawi. In a fresh twist gender activist Emma Kaliya has called on the Malawi Police Service (MPS) to uphold its sanity by investigating 45 female police officers over what she describe as “moral turpitude”saying the women in uniform caused the general public outrage by their consenting actions in the leaked messages.
Kaliya was responding to our questionnaire in relation to allegations that the suspended MPS human resource (HR) director, Commissioner Stanly Kaliza, promoted or included on foreign mission over 40 female officers in exchange with sexual favours .
Recently, Inspector General George Kainja clarified to the public that the HR does not effect promotions singlehandedly. Kainja further pointed out that promotions at MPS are handled by the Police Service Commission.
While commending the police for acting with speed on Commissioner Kaliza, Kaliya said she was appalled by the female officers’ behaviour arguing it was a frustration of the very efforts of fighting gender-based violence.
According to her, the female officers and MPS as a whole was key in fighting GBV and, yet, in this case they were at the for of perpetrating it. “It is taking forever for the action to be equally taken against female officers since the suspension of Mr Kaliza.
“By leaving the women still in position without being investigated is a sign of allowing chaos in the public institution,” Kaliya told Nyasa Times. She added: “Hearing and seeing the WhatsApp messages to us is heart breaking as champions of enforcing the law against gender based violence.
“The way things are the officers are not victims. They are accomplices to this issue. And as a close ally of the police, we at the Malawi Human Rights Resource Center (MHRRC) would like to ask the highest authority at MPS to consider sending the women on leave for thorough investigation based on moral turpitude as the messages seen show women in uniform were consenting under no duress.”
According to Kaliya, the Gender Equality Act (Article 5) talks of prohibition of harmful practices which in part states that a person commits an offence of sexual harassments if she or he engages in any form of unwanted verbal, physical conduct of a sexual nature in circumstances in which a reasonable person having regard to all the circumstances would have anticipated that the other person would be offended, humiliated or intimidated.
She said in view of the act it would seem none of the alleged 45 female officers raised grievances against Commissioner Kaliza. “Their does not in any way border on sexual harassment as the perceived victims seemed to be consenting,” Kaliya said.
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