The Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Mary Navicha has expressed criticism and concern over the manner in which the Malawi Human Rights Commission has handled the release of the outcome of their investigations on the Nsundwe incidents. The minister accuses the human rights commission of leaking the report to social media and other media houses before it was officially presented to her.
In a press statement made available to 247Malawi media , Navicha said “
As a Ministry mandated on the Welfare of Malawians, we are committed to ensure that the rights of every Malawian is safeguarded and protected. As such, on 17th October, 2019, the Ministry released the Press Statement titled “Condemnation of Alleged defilement, Rape and Torture of Women and Girls at Nsundwe” following the Nsundwe incident.
As a Ministry, we are aware that the Malawi Human Rights Commission has been investigating three issues relating to Nsundwe incidents as follows: “the death of the Police Officer”, “the general commotion at Nsundwe” and “the allegations on the sexual abuse on women and girls.”
The statement went on to say , The Ministry has noted with grave concern that the report we have been waiting for has not been released officially nor presented to the Ministry and other stakeholders, instead, it is circulating on social media and being discussed with the international media houses. This to us, is a sad development.
The Ministry would therefore like to condemn such behavior by Malawi Human Rights Commission and request the organization to immediately share the official report with the relevant stakeholders including the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare. This will enable the Ministry address the issues raised and work on the recommendations made.
In conclusion, the Ministry reiterates its commitment to work with the public and private institutions willing to find lasting solutions to all forms of Gender based violence in line with standing national laws.
Malawi Human rights commission is yet to respond to the critisism.
