Lilongwe has lectured Washington on human rights fundamentals. In a statement by the government of Malawi released on Thursday, it said that the Chakwera led government has taken note of the statement from the US State department released yesterday designating four former officers of the government of Malawi as being “generally ineligible for entry into the United States due to their involvement in significant corruption.”
According tor the statement, Lilongwe says it “respects the right of the US Government, as a custodian of sovereign state, to bar any person from other countries from entering its borders”.
However, in a thinly clothed jibe, Lilongwe lectured Washington that Malawi’s “policy and position [is] to respect the independence of the courts as the sole determinant of guilt or innocence of any person answering various charges in Malawi courts” adding that the Chakwera administration “maintains its resolve to continue respecting the constitutional right of every Malawian accused of a crime to defend themselves before the courts.”
Then came the not so covert attack when the statement stated that the Malawi government will continue engaging with the US government “to ensure continued respect of the independence of Malawi’s judiciary in determining the culpability of any accused persons without undue external” adding that the Chakwera government ”fully subscribes to the constitutional rights of all accused persons in Malawi and to accord them due process, a fair trial, and the presumption of innocence until found guilty by the courts.”
