{"id":69049,"date":"2025-03-22T12:24:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-22T12:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident"},"modified":"2025-04-04T11:09:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T11:09:04","slug":"opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident","title":{"rendered":"Opposition MPs up in arms over car incident"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. <\/strong><\/span><b>By Cathy Maulidi:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) walked out of Parliament Friday, protesting the government and Parliament\u2019s alleged inaction regarding the deflation of tyres on several of their vehicles by some alleged thugs.<\/p>\n<p>Weeks earlier, men captured on CCTV footage entered the Parliament grounds on the day President Lazarus Chakwera was present in the House to answer questions from MPs.<\/p>\n<p>They were observed deflating the tyres of vehicles belonging to opposition lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p>The incident was subsequently discussed and Parliamentarians agreed that an investigation was necessary to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable.<\/p>\n<p>A key initial step was to review the CCTV footage that had captured the men involved.<\/p>\n<p>However, nearly three weeks have passed without any discernible progress on the matter, prompting the opposition members to demand answers yesterday.<\/p>\n<p>Machinga East MP Esther Jolobala expressed concern over Parliament leadership\u2019s apparent lack of interest in the incident, which she interpreted as an indication of their knowledge of the events and the people responsible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is surprising that almost two weeks have passed without any action against the individuals whose faces were clearly visible on the CCTV footage. What is even more surprising is the inaction of both the Parliament leadership and the government in repairing the damaged tyres.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis inaction is deeply concerning and suggests that they are aware of what transpired and who dispatched these men,\u201d Jolobala said.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to journalists after the walkout, MP for Thyolo Thava, Mary Navicha, described the situation as deeply troubling in a democratic nation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is disheartening to witness the transformation of a once-secure Parliament into a venue where hoodlums operate with impunity.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday, thugs can freely enter Parliament and target the opposition without any repercussions from the government or the Parliament leadership. This lack of action implies their complicity,\u201d Navicha said.<\/p>\n<p>She added that if authorities were genuinely unaware of what occurred, the perpetrators would have been apprehended and the tyres would have been replaced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor instance, Honourable Grace Kwelepeta, MP for Zomba Malosa, is experiencing difficulties attending Parliament because the leadership has failed to replace the tyres of her vehicle, which were damaged by these thugs,\u201d Navicha claimed.<\/p>\n<p>Navicha indicated that the opposition MPs would continue to boycott parliamentary proceedings until Parliament\u2019s leadership and the government address their safety concerns and replace the damaged tyres.<\/p>\n<p>However, Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda said the matter had been reported to the appropriate authorities and that an investigation was ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is Parliament and members are entitled to express their views. Were they to do so outside of Parliament, others would have followed up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, within Parliament, they are immune. Nevertheless, the investigations are still in progress. For us to comment on a matter before the investigation report is presented in the House would be premature,\u201d Chimwendo Banda said.<\/p>\n<p>He also urged the opposition to allow the investigation to be completed.<\/p>\n<p>MP Lilian Patel, a commissioner in the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), which oversees matters concerning Parliament and its members, clarified that the matter had not yet been formally presented to them for investigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile I do not endorse the opposition MPs\u2019 walkout, as I have observed controversial bills being passed in Parliament during similar boycotts before, I stand in solidarity with their demand for action on this matter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpeaking in my capacity as a member of the PSC, though not on its behalf, I can confirm that this matter has not been formally presented to us for investigation since it occurred,\u201d Patel said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Malawi<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. By Cathy Maulidi: Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) walked out of Parliament Friday, protesting the government and Parliament\u2019s alleged inaction regarding the deflation of tyres on several of their vehicles by some alleged thugs. Weeks earlier, men captured on CCTV footage entered the Parliament grounds on the day President Lazarus Chakwera was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":69048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-69049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Opposition MPs up in arms over car incident - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Cathy Maulidi: Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) walked out of Parliament Friday, protesting the governm ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opposition MPs up in arms over car incident\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Cathy Maulidi: Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) walked out of Parliament Friday, protesting the governm ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-22T12:24:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-04T11:09:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2025\/03\/sm_1742633917.222969.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1816\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1093\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Opposition MPs up in arms over car incident\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-22T12:24:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-04T11:09:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident\"},\"wordCount\":605,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2025\/03\/sm_1742633917.222969.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/opposition-mps-up-in-arms-over-car-incident\",\"name\":\"Opposition MPs up in arms over car incident - 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