By Wendy Mkandawire
The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has asked Parliament to summon heads of the Malawi Defence Force Marine and the Malawi Police Service to explain how a Tanzanian vessel sailed into Lake Malawi and docked without detection.
In a statement signed by Executive Director Sylvester Namiwa, CDEDI said Malawians are shocked by reports that the Tanzanian vessel sailed freely through Malawian waters undetected before docking at Monkey Bay, right next to the MDF Marine headquarters.
“In an ideal situation, the vessel ought to have been intercepted at the point of entry into our boundary by either the MDF Marine or the Malawi Police Service”, he added.
According to Namiwa the constitutional mandate is to protect the nation from external aggression and to provide for the safety of lives and property of Malawians.
the statement further said that the incident has sent shivers down the spines of all well-meaning Malawians.
CDEDI described it as “inconceivable” that this could happen in broad daylight when both the MDF and MPS have fully funded marine units.
The organization has since asked the relevant Parliamentary Committee to help citizens exercise their right to know whether the lapse was due to sheer incompetence or negligence.
The Tanzanian vessel was reportedly sighted sailing freely on Lake Malawi on Sunday morning, an incident that has raised serious security questions.
CDEDI said it expects accountability from the security agencies tasked with safeguarding Malawi’s waters.
