Human Rights Defenders Coalition  has announced that they will hold protests against ECF-SADC for Electoral Commission currently under way at Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre on Wednesday.

Making the announcement, HRDC  states that they want the SADC meeting cancelled. The Summit was opened by Malawi electoral commission chair Jane Ansah of whom HRDC has been at the forefront calling for her to resign.

Ansah who attended a meeting of the Electoral Commissions Forum for SADC Countries (ECF-SADC) at the hotel today has for the past three months defied calls to step down.

Speaking at a press briefing in Lilongwe today, HRDC member Billy Mayaya said they have already sent a letter of notification to the district council and Police in Blantyre for the demonstrations which will be held from Wednesday to Friday.

Mayaya added that ECF-SADC has challenged Malawians by recognizing Ansah as its president despite some Malawians rejecting her due to irregularities in the May 21 elections.

“We are therefore calling on Malawians of goodwill to join and demand the electoral justice, we are saying that protestors will not leave Mount Soche premises until MEC chair resigns,” he explained.

HRDC has been organising nationwide demonstrations demanding Ansah’s resignation.

The organisation as well as the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM accuse Ansah and MEC of failing to deliver credible presidential elections in May.

The last demonstrations which were conducted in Mzuzu, Lilongwe, and Blantyre among other districts ended in violence as some journalists were harassed by protesters.

Meanwhile, at the Hotel where the ECF-SAD conference is taking place, there is heavy security with police officers deployed at the gates.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived in South Africa, with their four-month-old son Archie, for their first official tour as a family.

Prince Harry will also travel alone to Malawi, Botswana and Angola, where he will pay tribute to his mother Princess Diana’s anti-landmine campaign.

The 10-day visit, that began on Monday, will see the couple celebrate the people and culture of southern Africa.

They are visiting a township in Cape Town on the first stop of the visit.

Other highlights of the tour will include a visit to another township near Johannesburg, where Prince Harry and Meghan will learn about a project tackling rising unemployment.

The royals will be in Africa until 2 October. While the duchess and Archie are scheduled to spend the duration in South Africa, Prince Harry will also tour Angola, Malawi and Botswana before being reunited with his family in Johannesburg

On Friday the duke is due to visit Angola where he will mark the legacy of his mother, the Princess of Wales, by paying homage to her 1997 campaign to outlaw landmines.

In Malawi Prince Harry will pay tribute to a British soldier killed by an elephant during anti-poaching operations. His visit will also focus on efforts to protect endangered animals.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “The Duke of Sussex’s love for Africa is well known; he first visited the continent at the age of 13, and more than two decades later the people, culture, wildlife and resilient communities continue to inspire and motivate him every day.”

About 45 Malawi Defence Force (MDF) marines and boat crewmen have completed a one month long training organized under the Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) conducted by instructors from the US Navy Seal.

Speaking to journalists after officially closing the training, MDF Chief of Training, Brigadier General George Phiri described the training as important for MDF marines, saying they had acquired special skills to operate on land and water.

“Under the Joint Combined Exchange Training, we have many types of training that we do including redeployment, but this training was special one specifically for the marines,” said Phiri.

“The U.S. operators have trained the MDF Marines on vessel boarding and seizure, infiltration, amphibious operations and urban movement techniques,” said Phiri.

Phiri also expressed gratitude for the support which Malawi gets from the US in areas of training.

“We are always happy that we have cordial relationship with our friends from the US who are always ready to help us in terms of training,” said Phiri.

Brigadier General Phiri further said despite that the country has not been at war, it is important to have such trainings for keeping the forces ready and steady.

“Continuous training helps to keep a credible defence force while making it a deterrence to those that my want to harm us,” said Phiri.

In another interview, Commander of the Maritime Forces, Brigadier General Francis Kakhuta Banda said that training had equipped the Marine Forces with expertise that will enable them to be deployed in any situation requiring such expertise.

Brig. Gen. Banda said combined with the newly acquired warship skills, the marines have the means to be an effective unit.

Acting Deputy Chief of Mission at the USA Embassy, Marc Trahan described the relation between his country and MDF as robust.

“Our relation with MDF is good, we have a number of areas of cooperation, including the area of training and HIV AIDS programmes,” said Trahan.

“We have been committed for years and will continue to be committed for years to come as we have interest in building the capacity of the Malawi Defense Force,” he added.

At the end of the training, the 45 marines, three of which are female, received certificates for completion of the course.

The Malawi Electoral Commission will host the 21st Annual General Conference of the Electoral Commissions for SADC Countries (ECF SADC) from 22 to 27th September, 2019 in Blantyre.

A statement signed by MEC chairperson Justice Dr. Jane Ansah, says Vice-President, Everton Herbert Chimulirenji, will officially open the conference at 9.00AM on Monday September 23, 2019 in Blantyre.

Alongside the conference, the ECF SADC will also host a one-day international seminar on “Enhancing the Credibility of Elections Through Observation”, the statement says.

The ECF SADC is a network of electoral management bodies (EMBs) from 16 SADC countries; Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Zimbabwe. Malawi currently holds the Presidency for the Forum.

This will be one of the first official engagements by Jane Ansah. Demonstrations have been ongoing since the May general elections calling for her resign