By Wendy Mkandawire
Social commentator George Chaima has commended the government for condemning the misuse of the State House official logo by private car owners who use it to falsely claim authority and intimidate traffic law enforcement officers from conducting lawful checks.
Chaima was reacting to a statement released on 10 September by State House and signed by Presidential Press Secretary Cathy Maulidi.
The statement warned that some individuals who are not affiliated with State House are unlawfully using the official State House logo.
According to the statement, some motorists are affixing the State House logo on private vehicles to fake official authority and intimidate traffic law enforcement officers from conducting lawful checks.
Reacting to this, State House said it will not tolerate any abuse of the logo with evil motives to intimidate law officers.
In an interview, Chaima said the emblem is a symbol of the presidency and must only be used by the President and those expressly permitted under State House law.
He added that the misuse of state symbols undermines the authority of the presidency and erodes public trust in government institutions.
State House has since directed all unauthorized users to desist from the malpractice with immediate effect, warning that law enforcement agencies will be moving to enforce compliance.
