This archive report was first published on 6 July 2019.
Malawi has been gripped by nearly two months of protests, with demonstrators claiming the May 21 presidential election was fraudulent and demanding the resignation of election commission chairwoman Jane Ansah.
On some days, businesses in the capital Lilongwe and commercial hub of Blantyre have pulled down their shutters in fear of violence.
President Peter Mutharika made the accusations on July 6, 2019, during a rally to mark the country's 55th anniversary of independence from Britain.
"The violence you see is calculated to turn Malawi into a lawless state," Mutharika said.
He warned that the protest organizers would be dealt with severely, stating, "They want to create lawlessness so that they can take over this government. But they will only take this government over my dead body."
Opposition leaders, including Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party and Saulos Chilima of the United Transformation Movement, have been participating in the protests, which have been organized by the Human Rights Defenders Coalition.
The coalition's vice chairman, Gift Trapence, disputed the president's claims, saying, "These protests are not targeted to overthrow the government. We are not attacking the government... and no one wants to overthrow the government."
Instead, Trapence said the peaceful demonstrations were aimed at forcing Ansah to resign due to allegations of election irregularities, including the use of correction fluid on some results sheets.
