Police yesterday arrested Malawi Congress Party (MCP) campaign director Moses Kunkuyu and charged him with inciting violence during the funeral of ex-First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Madaitso Kazombo. Kunkuyu, who prior to the September 16 General Election served as minister of Information and Digitalisation in the former president Lazarus Chakwera’s Cabinet, surrendered himself to National Police Headquarters in Lilongwe after learning that police were looking for him. National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo in an interview confirmed that Kunkuyu was taken to Kanengo Police Station, but declined to provide further details.
But Kadzipatike said his client was questioned, charged with inciting violence and later taken to Kanengo Police Station where he is awaiting a court appearance. He said: “I came here with honourable Moses Kunkuyu. When he learned the police were seeking him, he came to surrender himself.
The police had visited his homes in Blantyre and Lilongwe. “He was questioned about remarks he made during the funeral of honourable Kazombo at MCP headquarters. It appears the State is not comfortable with the remarks that he made.
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We don’t know when he is going to be taken to court. He has been charged with proposing violence.” In a video clip of Kunkuyu’s speech at Kazombo’s funeral, he is heard speaking in parables, comparing MCP secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda’s arrest to isolating someone wrongly accused of having leprosy. He warned that MCP leaders and supporters would mobilise at the party headquarters after the burial to demand the release of those unfairly targeted.
Kadzipatike, himself a legislator for Dowa Kasangadzi Constituency, faulted Kunkuyu’s arrest, arguing that members of Parliament (MPs) enjoy immunity from arrest while Parliament or its committees are in session. Kunkuyu is Dedza Mlunduni MP and a member of the International Relations Committee of Parliament which is currently meeting in Lilongwe. But in a separate interview, lawyer Benedicto Kondowe said Section 60(1) of the Constitution provides that MPs are privileged from arrest only while going to, returning from or within the precincts of the National Assembly and for statements made in parliamentary proceedings.
He said: “This provision protects two specific interests: freedom of movement to and from Parliament as well as freedom of speech within parliamentary proceedings. “It does not confer a blanket immunity from arrest for all criminal offences, nor does it shield members from accountability for conduct unrelated to parliamentary proceedings.” Kondowe, who is also a human rights activist, added that the scope of this constitutional privilege is further clarified by the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act. He said: “Under Section 3, immunity attaches only to words spoken or written or matters brought before the Assembly or its committees. Under Section 4, freedom from arrest is narrowly confined: protection from arrest for civil debt while attending parliamentary business and protection from arrest within the precincts of the assembly for criminal offences without the consent of the Speaker.
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