Panga-wielding thugs, suspected to be connected to the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP), hacked maintenance workers for Bwaila Hospital over disputed land.
Some of the workers, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, confided in The Atlas Malawi that the assault took place in the evening of January 15.
The workers had been instructed to erect a fence to close the passage straddling the hospital fence and the shops that are next to Simsol Filling Station.
The move was to prevent vendors from rebuilding their shops adjacent to the hospital’s fence.
The shops, which had just been pulled down by the authorities, belonged to the MCP sympathisers who had defied several prior warnings not to erect the structures.
“We were told to carry out the work in the evening,” said one of the workers, adding that they were accompanied by police officers.
But as they went about their work, they were ambushed by a gang of masked, panga-wielding thugs.
“They started beating us, confiscated building materials and our personal property, such as phones. Some of us were hacked,” said one of the workers, who was among those who sustained injuries but got discharged from the hospital after spending a few days.
However, others were seriously injured and are still admitted to Kamuzu Central Hospital.
After the incident, some senior officers of the hospital cautioned the affected workers against telling anyone about the incident, and they were assured the hospital would take up the matter with the police.
“But they have not updated us since the incident happened. We don’t even know if they reported the issue to the police. We were also not given any assistance. We are just waiting to recover and return to work,” said the source.
Lilongwe District Health Office spokesperson Richard Mvula expressed ignorance on the matter and asked this reporter to call back later. But he has neither picked up our calls nor responded to reminders on WhatsApp for almost a week now.
However, Lilongwe Police spokesperson Hastings Chigalu stated that they have not received any reports regarding the incident.
“If this is true, the workers should have reported the matter to the police since they are the victims. The first thing you do after being attacked is to report to the police. You don’t surrender your rights to someone,” he said.
MCP spokesperson Jessy Kabwira was not available for comment despite several calls to her mobile phone.
