The security breach that has occurred at Vice President Office, Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima at Capital Hill is one of President Lazarus Chakwera’s failures to protect his Vice President by any imagination.
At a place of high security alert, in a building with its own security services of over 100 Police Mobile Forces(PMF) and Secret Service Agents(SNA) or National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) robbers could force their way into the seat of Government, Capital Hill where people believe is one of the places with high security alerts, but only to be told that ‘what you think is not what is there’ should be a big joke.
On March 2, 2015, an unidentified man dressed in a construction suit tried to enter the White House grounds through the gate at Pennsylvania Avenue near East Executive Avenue in the early morning. He was stopped by the Uniformed Division officers and taken into custody. This is in USA.
Around 20th January, 2021, a burglary attempt was done at the Vice President office at Capital Hill and no attempt has been made by the George Kainja led Police service to apprehend the suspect.
Around the same dates of 20th of January, 2021, Jean Sendeza, the Deputy Minister of Defence, at her house in area 47, robbers broke into and got K3m and immediately the Police mounted a search and within 48 hours, one robber was arrested by the name of Chisomo Frakson of Malezi Village ,TA Chitekesa from Lilongwe District.
HERE WE ARE NOW
The Office of Vice President is the second protected office on the land after the Presidents office. The security detail are supposed to be as tight as water.
Those who have been to Capital Hill in Lilongwe, the entry gate into the buildings have PMF armed with rifles of different types. We have got CIDs placed there. Each building inside the Capital Hill parameters has CCTV cameras to detect unforseen situations that human eye can fail to see.
“What baffles me is that when the first burglary attempt was done, what we got was that the police are investigating the matter. And no any other announcement has been made so far. Within the same dates, the house of the Deputy Minister is ransacked and immediately the police were up to the job to apprehend the suspect. This is where questions are coming in to say why is the house of Deputy Minister given the priority than the office of the VP?” Wonders one lecturer at Mzuzu university who teaches Security Studies at the College.
It’s not the first time Chilima has faced such kind of torture from the Police IG unprofessional conducts.
During Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika adminstration, his security detail was also taken away. It had to take the High Court to save him after political dispute with his boss at that time.
“The security of the Vice President is one of the top obligations of the commander-in- Chief of Malawi Police Service who is President Chakwera. If the President can not question his IG how his Vice President has been attempted to be robbed, then the President has failed his job to protect his Vice. Up to now, no any report of any sort has come out for the people of Malawi to appreciate what the police are doing to arrest the offenders. Where is the President in all this now? What is he thinking of his relationship with his Vice President?” asked the security analyst of Mzuzu University who went to say that it would not be difficult for the IG to find the robbers as the office of VP has CCTV cameras.
The office of VP has CCTV cameras and other ‘top of the class’ security personnel.
“The 20th of February, robbery is just a continuation of what happened on 21st January, and it has clocked exactly one month for the second robbery to be done. This is a well planned move and the VP has to be very careful as his life is in danger now. That office has Secret Service personnel, where were they? What about the PMF ? What about the security dogs? Are you telling me that all these security agents went to bed when the robbers came in to steal? Or it may happen that someone deliberately twisted the CCTV cameras so that when thieves come in, the cameras must not detect them. Something fishy is happening within the government machinery and someone is paying a blind eye deliberately for their political reasons or differences that might have occurred in their Tonse Alliance government, or the IG knows what is happening?” said the lecturer.
The country is failing to understand why the office of the VP can be a targetbin a space of two consecutive months and no extra precaution measures have been take by the IG.
On 23rd of February, Press Officer for the Vice President, Pilirani Phiri issued a Press Statement to announce the robbery that took place on 20th February after the police failed to announce it to the people of Malawi for 72 hours.
” If you are familiar with the office of the Vice President at Capital Hill, it has two wings. The first wing has the office of VP and PS. The other wing houses the office of the DA, Special Assistants to the VP and the entire adminstration personnel” writes Mr Phiri in his statement.
Phiri also disclosed that the robbers took away computer monitors, central processing unity (CPU), a radio and CPU for the administration secretary.
If the IG can not protect the Vice President of the nation with such kind of negligence, what more about a poor Malawian who is defenceless always staying in rural setup? Tonse or Okha?
