This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On July 4, 2019, thousands of people in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, took to the streets to demonstrate against the re-election of President Peter Mutharika, which they claimed was marred by fraud.
Approximately 3,500 marchers headed towards parliament, where a two-day vigil was planned to protest the result of the May 21 presidential vote.
Many shops were closed, and police were heavily deployed in the area, according to AFP journalists.
In Blantyre, the financial capital, protesters alleged that they had been attacked and forced to disperse by individuals wearing T-shirts showing support for the ruling Progressive Democratic Party (DPP).
Gift Trapence, of the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, accused DPP "thugs" of inciting violence, stating, "We are undeterred because we know that this is an attempt to distract us. We have since taken up this issue with the police."
"We are undeterred because we know that this is an attempt to distract us," Trapence said. "We have since taken up this issue with the police." The planned two-day protest followed a string of demonstrations that had often been broken up by police firing tear gas. The election was marred by allegations of fraud, including the claim that many results sheets were altered using typewriter correction fluid. The two main opposition parties had challenged the vote outcome in court.
