The Independent Complaints Commission (ICC) says planned investigations into alleged sexual assault and rape in Msundwe area in Lilongwe have stalled due to lack of funds.

ICC director Christopher Tukula last year told The Nation that the investigations were scheduled for the first week of October 2021, but one year later he has conceded no investigation has taken place.

In an interview on Tuesday this week, he said funds have not been available.

Tukula: We can investigate police misconduct

Tukula said: “We should have started the investigations last year and our expectations were to finish within four months. Unfortunately, we were not provided with funding. We proposed a budget of K68 million for this investigation alone.”

He said to date the commission has only trained investigators and developed an investigation strategy.

Tukula said: “This investigation is important, especially that the findings by the MHRC [Malawi Human Rights Commission] were disputed by the police.

“But then, even the investigation that police was doing, MHRC did not trust it. So, police withdrew its investigation and we thought it was important we should do it to bring clarification.”

He said the commission has this financial year been allocated K98 million for investigations such that taking away K68 million for Msundwe alone, would affect all other on-going probes.

During a meeting with the Defence and Security Committee of Parliament on Tuesday, the ICC decried low funding, saying in both the current and last financial year they only got one third of what they requested from Treasury.

In the current financial year, the commission’s allocation is K359 million against the requested K1.1 billion, a K700 million deficit. 

Currently the commission has 106 complaints received and 36 investigations conducted.

Controversy surrounding allegations of sexual assault and rape charges around Msundwe, Mpingu and Mbwatalika trading centres in Lilongwe during post-2019 elections violence started after MHRC and Malawi Police produced two conflicting investigative reports.

The MHRC report faulted some police officers for allegedly raping some women and girls, but the police questioned MHRC’s report and considered the rape allegations as “cooked up”.

But in an interview, MHRC spokesperson Kate Kujaliwa said they believe in their investigation which established human rights violations.

The report recommended prosecution against police officers alleged to have perpetrated the sexual violence.

But National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya said there is no disciplinary action taken against any officer based on the MHRC report because the purported findings were “just allegations”.

Police allegedly went on the rampage in the areas following the stoning to death of their colleague Suwedi Iman by residents during protests.

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