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| National |
| Muslims celebrate release of suspects |
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by
Denis Mzembe, 07 August 2003
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11:28:56
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Muslims in Mangochi last weekend celebrated the release of the five al Qaeda suspects who were arrested in Blantyre recently and handed over to United States authorities.
Chairman of the Mangochi district assembly, Yusuf Kusweje, himself a Muslim, confirmed in an interview that members of the faith gathered at the district headquarters to be told formally that the five suspects have since been released.
“But it was not a celebration as such. It was to tell people that the suspects are now free and we should continue living together with our Christian brothers and sisters in peace,” Kusweje said.
He said police authorised the celebrations and the district is now calm.
But in another interview Father Mathew Likambale of the Roman Catholic Church said there is still tension in the district because issues relating to recent riots by Muslims angered by the arrests and deportation of the five suspects have not been resolved.
He said, among other things, it is not known how police dealt with those who were arrested on allegations of destroying property during the riots.
“We can’t say the danger is over. Our fear is that the disturbances may resurrect again because the issue is being suppressed,” he said.
“There have been in the recent past some letters circulating which were threatening Christians of a possible ‘jihad’, expulsion of foreign missionaries or statements of declaring Mangochi as only for Muslims, putting some restrictions on public life in Mangochi in respect of Islamic Laws,” Likambale said.
About 34 church leaders from various Christian organisations in Mangochi have since issued a joint statement demanding that the Inspector General of Police should assure people in Mangochi of their future security and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to ensure that justice has been carried out on those that were apprehended for destroying property.
“The State President’s directive to apprehend the perpetrators consoled us. However, this timely good gesture of redress was short lived. We heard and saw that the suspects were released within a few hours,” reads the statement.
DPP Fahad Assani said Monday he has received files on the cases in Mzuzu, Kasungu and Mangochi. He is yet to receive the file from Blantyre where Muslim riots also took place.
“I have the files and anytime now I should be issuing instructions that the culprits be prosecuted accordingly,” he said.
Assani said charges against the culprits range from malicious damage to property and arson.
The arrest of the five al Qaeda suspects sparked riots by Muslim faithful in Blantyre, Mangochi, Kasungu and Mzuzu, resulting into extensive damage to property mostly in Blantyre and Mangochi.
The rampaging Muslims ransacked Muslim Association of Malawi offices in Blantyre and caused damage to five Christian churches in Mangochi, a UDF district office, Save the Children Fund (USA) office and also burnt a vehicle belonging to a Catholic priest.
Several of the rioting Muslims were arrested and released on bail.
Assani said those arrested in Mzuzu were released on court bail but was not sure how the ones arrested in Mangochi were released.
Police public relations officer George Chikowi said the Mangochi suspects were charged with malicious damage to property and were “released through the court”.
Meanwhile, Save the Children (US) acting field office director Thomas McCormark has said his office has started negotiating with government on how property damaged during the riots can be rehabilitated.
“There was significant damage to property and we have a fair idea of how much is involved,” said McCormark declining to disclose how much “because we are still discussing the issue with government”.
But Likambale said the value of the damage to the Catholic church’s property runs into millions of kwacha.
“The value of the burned car alone is over K1 million and several churches were damaged,” Likambale said. |
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