By Burnett Munthali

The recent response—or lack thereof—by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) and the Malawi Police Service during the violent demonstrations in Lilongwe has sparked a nationwide uproar.

General Paul Valentino Phiri, the Commander of the MDF, has issued a public statement insisting that the army remains a professional, impartial body committed to protecting all Malawians as mandated by law.

He emphasized that the MDF is currently reviewing the conduct of its soldiers during the Thursday demonstrations to assess whether they fulfilled their constitutional obligations.

While this admission may appear responsible on the surface, it raises serious questions: why was such a review not initiated the moment soldiers were seen standing idly by as citizens were brutalized in broad daylight?

Several civil society organizations and political observers have rightly condemned the MDF for what they describe as passivity and cowardice in the face of lawlessness.

Soldiers, fully armed and strategically placed, stood silently as thugs armed with dangerous weapons—such as clubs and pangas—disrupted the demonstrations.

These thugs not only disrupted the peaceful protests but also reportedly attacked organizers, including prominent civil rights advocate Sylvester Namiwa.

This spectacle of armed men in uniform watching chaos unfold without intervening is not only disgraceful—it is unconstitutional.

The primary role of both the MDF and the Police is to safeguard life, protect freedoms, and maintain peace—not to become spectators while citizens bleed.

General Phiri’s promise to “review” the conduct of the soldiers is an exercise in bureaucratic evasion unless it leads to immediate and visible consequences for those who neglected their duties.

In Malawi’s fragile democracy, such dereliction of duty is not a minor lapse; it is a betrayal of public trust and a dangerous precedent that emboldens lawlessness.

Security forces that fail to act when violence erupts are no longer neutral; they are enablers of terror.

The people of Malawi deserve better than uniforms filled with silence and guns that never defend the innocent.

The MDF and Police must be reminded that loyalty to the Constitution outweighs loyalty to political convenience or fear of backlash.

If these institutions cannot uphold justice impartially and decisively, then they cease to be guardians of the people—they become complicit in the very terror they are sworn to prevent.