The following is based on a communication sent by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Malawi on 25 July 2025. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this timeframe. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: allegations of violent physical attacks against Mr. Sylvester Namiwa during a peaceful protest in Lilongwe on 26 June 2025, which are reported to be part of a broader pattern of repression against human rights defenders and other civil society actors advocating for democracy and economic development in Malawi ahead of the general elections scheduled for 16 September 2025.
Mr. Sylvester Namiwa is a human rights defender, Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) and the national coordinator for Citizens for Credible Elections. Citizens for Credible Elections is a platform of civil society organisations and individuals advocating for free, fair and impartial general elections in Malawi on 16 September 2025.
ALLEGATIONS
Previous harassment of Mr. Sylvester Namiwa
On 11 August 2021, Mr. Namiwa was reportedly violently arrested at the Malawi Parliament and forced into a civilian car by plainclothes police officers who then brought him to the area 30 police headquarters. The human rights defender was then reportedly brought to Linthipe Police Station in Dedza district where a statement was taken from him. That evening, Mr. Namiwa was then transferred to area 13 police station in Lilongwe’s city centre where he was detained overnight.
The following day, on 12 August 2021, Mr. Namiwa was transferred to area 3 police station in Lilongwe where he was again detained overnight.
The human rights defender’s family members were not informed of his location until Mr. Namiwa’s lawyer notified them that he was in Linthipe. When Mr. Namiwa’s wife drove to Linthipe, the human rights defender had already been transferred back to Lilongwe.
On 13 August 2021 Mr. Namiwa appeared before Mkukula Magistrate’s Court along with ten others who were arrested on the same allegations of organizing illegal protests. The human rights defender and his lawyers were only made aware of these charges once he appeared in court. The court ruled that the eleven individuals were to be released on bail and that the case would commence on 13 September 2021. The case did not commence on this date and the individuals have been forced to appear once a month at area 30 police headquarters since then.
The following year, on 26 July 2022, Mr. Namiwa was allegedly forced into a second civilian car and driven to several unknown locations before being dumped at Double Vision on the M1 Road. Mr. Namiwa was brought by his family members to ABC Mission Hospital where he was reportedly examined and treated for multiple cuts on his neck as a result of alleged strangulation attempts. The human rights defender subsequently filed a complaint with the Malawi Police who took a statement from Mr. Namiwa and initiated an investigation. This investigation was reportedly never concluded.
On 22 May 2023, the CDEDI organized the first of a series of vigils at the main entrance of Capital Hill in Lilongwe demanding the resignation of the Attorney General for failing to recover K750 million meant for Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP), but which was instead allegedly paid to an individual abroad. On this date, Mr. Namiwa received information that a group was planning to attack the protests on 25 May 2023 which he informed the police and journalists covering the vigils of. When the group arrived, reportedly armed with knives and other sharp objects, they were arrested and brought to Lingadzi police station but were released later that day.
Peaceful protests on 26 June 2025 and physical attack against Mr. Sylvester Namiwa
On 26 June 2025, Citizens for Credible Elections, led by Mr. Sylvester Namiwa, organised a series of peaceful protests in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mangochi and Mzuzu demonstrating against the government and the Malawi Electoral Commission’s (MEC) handling of upcoming general elections in September 2025. The protest, which the organisers notified the authorities of in advance in compliance with national law, was aimed at forcing senior members of the MEC to resign as a result of their alleged lack of impartiality. These concerns were based on the MEC’s refusal to accept a proposal from key electoral stakeholders to let an independent auditor audit the Elections Management System.
During the protest in Lilongwe, between ten and twenty unidentified men, some of whom were masked and armed with machetes, allegedly attacked a number of protesters, including Mr. Sylvester Namiwa. Multiple vehicles were also allegedly vandalized, with at least three set on fire.
Mr. Namiwa attempted to seek refuge in a nearby minibus which was then allegedly attacked by the armed men who started smashing the windows and assaulting the driver and stealing his phone. The men then allegedly proceeded to violently assault Mr. Namiwa. According to the information received, these events were witnessed by the Malawi Police and the Malawi Defence Force who reportedly did not intervene or take any action to protect the protestors or Mr. Namiwa despite multiple calls for them to do so.
Following the attack, Mr. Namiwa was taken to ABC Mission hospital where he was examined. The human rights defender was then transferred to area 10 Clinic Lilongwe where he received further treatment for his injuries including fifteen wounds to his head, neck, hands, arms, back and legs. On 27 June 2025, Mr. Namiwa filed a complaint regarding the incident at the Lilongwe Police Station but at the time of writing, no arrests have been made.
Following the protest on 26 June 2025, Mr. Namiwa has also reportedly received numerous death threats via anonymous calls, texts and Facebook messages warning him that he would be found by ‘dangerous’ people. This includes a message from a known Malawi Congress Party operative celebrating his attack and warning him to stop the demonstrations if he cared for his life.
Further allegations have been made by civil society groups that the unidentified assailants had links to a youth militia allegedly aligned with the authorities in Malawi which has been accused of using violence to silence critics and suppress protests in the lead up to the upcoming elections in September 2025.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express deep concern at the alleged attacks against Mr. Sylvester Namiwa and other civil society actors advocating for democracy and economic development in Malawi, including harassment, arbitrary arrests, death threats, and physical ill-treatment. We are particularly concerned that Mr. Namiwa appears to have been targeted as a result of his legitimate work as a human rights defender, the exercise of his right to freedom of expression, and his leadership role in organizing peaceful demonstrations. Such targeting represents a serious violation of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association which has a chilling effect on the ability of human rights defenders, civil society actors and political activists to carry out their legitimate work without fear of reprisal. Recognizing how human rights defenders are frequently subjected to threats, intimidation and attacks because of their activities, the Human Rights Committee, in its general comment No. 34, stressed that, “all such attacks should be vigorously investigated in a timely fashion, and the perpetrators prosecuted, and the victims, or, in the case of killings, their representatives, be in receipt of appropriate forms of redress” (para. 23).
We are further concerned about the growing pattern of violence during peaceful demonstrations ahead of the general elections scheduled for 16 September 2025. We are alarmed by reports that the Malawi Police and the Malawi Defence Force did not intervene or take any action to protect the protestors taking part in peaceful demonstrations on 26 June 2025 in accordance with sections 153(2) and 160(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi.[1] We remind the Government of Malawi of its obligations as a signatory of international human rights treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights to respect, protect, promote, and fulfil the human rights of everyone in the country including the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
