MCP alleged to be messing with National ID registration

According to an audio going round on social media, Member of Parliament Kaimapanjira of Lilongwe is involved in a national ID syndicate of registering underaged children in readiness for the 2025 general election.

It has been reported that the Member of Parliament is backing the community for breaking the law by allowing young children who are underaged to register and obtain national identity cards so that they may be able to vote in the coming general election next year.

A lady’s voice is heard in the audio explaining that when underaged children below 16 are sent back not to register for the national IDs, the community accuses them that they are planning to disrupt the election process. According to how the lady is speaking in the audio she sounds to be from the National Registration Bureau.

In the audio, it is also alleged that the chief of a certain area has been demanding National registration forms for the national ID from the NRB. The officer speaking in the interviews says the office has not issued forms to anyone for distribution on their behalf. She said ititsffices must distribute registration forms for the IDS to individual applicants.

The audio further reveals that one National Registration Bureau officer, somewhere in Likuni Lilongwe, sent back children because they were underaged. Later a team of bouncers belonging to the Malawi Congress party went to the duty station and started interrogating the officer who had sent back children who did not qualify to obtain National IDs. The audio further reveals that the mCP threateningly demanded details of the officer on duty who refused to give out her details. The lady on duty is reported to have stood her ground and was not allowed to be moved by pressure or intimidation to break the law any further.

It is also reported that a team of bounces went to another registration center for National IDs where they spoke to officers saying that the 2025 election was in their hands. They warned some officers that if they were not very careful they would be in trouble. The lady speaking in the audio continues to say that mCP thugs want to create fear and intimidation in the National Registration Bureau offices for performing their duties professionally.

However, the lady in the audio predicted that there would be bloodshed during the campaign and election for 2025, especially in rural areas of the Central Region in particular. It has also been reported that MCPE and DPP factions have ended up fighting in Namitete Lilongwe over issues to do with ID registration in the area. It has been observed that people in the Central Region of Malawi are very emotional regarding this coming election.

The source of the discussion in the audio is not known but the content of the audio seems to be valid and similar to what activist Bon Kalindo has already said in his videos.

According to our investigations, the Member of Parliament being mentioned in the audio is the honorable Winston Kaimapanjira of Lilongwe North East Constituency.

The Minister of Information did not respond to our questionnaire as we went to press.