Malawi battles gun proliferation threatening investment
Malawi, previously a tranquil country that has never been to war, is being
swamped by military small arms.

Agence France Presse (from South African Mail and Guardian), 15 July 1999

FELIX MPONDA reports

FANCY a Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle? With as little as US$20 one can easily and illegally own one in Malawi. Firearms are in plentiful supply in this impoverished Southern African state, which has never been to war with any country nor gone through a civil war itself.

The unprecedented proliferation of illegal guns, particularly the AK-47, threatens the security of this traditionally tranquil country, while experts say the impact on the economy could be devastating. Traders, the main victims of daily armed robberies in recent months, are threatening to quit the country.

Gangs of 10 or more target Asian businessmen and other wealthy citizens, often leaving their victims dead.

Malawi became a dumping ground for weapons when peace returned to neighbouring Mozambique after a 1992 accord that signalled the end of a 16-year civil war.

Worried traders have given the government of President Bakili Muluzi a month to improve security, failing which they say they will shut up shop. "We challenge the government to take substantial action against crime," said Chris Yiannakis, a prominent Malawian businessman.

"We want to see the army, the police in our homes. If we don't, we will shut down this country, we will close the economy, we will stop going to work," Yiannakis added.

Malawi's 6,000-strong police force is undergoing reform, sponsored by Britain, but is still considered poorly equipped.

However, a new drive has begun against illegal firearms. Initiated by the non-partisan pressure group, the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), it has brought together police firearm experts, immigration and customs officials, and non-governmental organisations, to discuss the problem.

PAC officials said the experts are examining how firearms are easily brought into the country and ways to control the illegal importation of the arms. "We are concerned with illegal firearms in the country, especially when you consider the number of armed robberies the country is going through," said a PAC spokesman.

There are no statistics of the number of illegal arms inside the country, but the sudden rise in armed robberies testifies to an increase, experts said.

Security officials say the frontier districts, with no official entry points, are porous. In many places along the borders with Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique people can walk across without travel documents.

The wave of crime has also greatly tarnished the image of Muluzi's government. Prominent opposition politician John Tembo said in comments published on Thursday in the Daily Times that "investors are bound to run away from Malawi if the current wave of armed robberies and breakdown of law and order continue."

He said investment in any country depends on the security of both the lives and property of investors. "Our government's attitude towards security seems to be not to care about it. We have been urging government to do something about the security situation, but they seem impotent to deal with it," he said.