Constable Yotamu Chaonaine is a Child Prosecutor with the Malawi Police Service stationed in Lilongwe.
In November Irish President, Mr. Michael D. Higgins, visited Malawi as part of a three-country trip, which also included Ethiopia and South Africa. Speaking before he travelled, President Higgins said that the visit would recognise “the immense contribution that Irish Aid, Irish aid agencies and workers and missionaries have made in Africa, and will include visits to a range of aid projects in both Ethiopia and Malawi”. While in Malawi, the President visited a number of Irish Aid-funded community projects and heard presentations from Concern, Goal, Trócaire, and Self Help Africa as part of the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Violence.
Irish Rule of Law International (IRLI) – a joint initiative of the Law Society of Ireland and the Bar Council of Ireland dedicated to promoting rule of law and improving access to justice in developing countries – was one such organisation chosen to meet President Higgins, and I attended as a representative of the Malawi Police Service to explain our involvement with their work on access to justice within the criminal justice system. Excessive use of detention and the lack of a comprehensive legal-aid system, among other factors, have resulted in considerable overcrowding in Malawi’s prisons. IRLI in Malawi assists with providing legal representation to prisoners who have been detained for prolonged periods without trial. It also provides targeted training to advocates, police officers, magistrates and other key stakeholders.
In my role as Child Prosecutor I prosecute children who are in conflict with the law, and have been working with IRLI since 2011 at training fellow police officers in the concepts and implementation of diversion and restorative justice for child suspects. To date, we have carried out many workshops on the treatment of child suspects (including arrest, bail and detention) and diversion. We have trained a large number of officers from Lilongwe Police Station, including all of its surrounding sub-stations, units and posts.
I have also facilitated the diversion programme ‘Mwai Wosinthika’ for children who have been diverted from the formal criminal justice system. ‘Mwai Wosinthika’ is a 12 week programme run as an alternative to custody for children in conflict with the law. The programme seeks to empower young people by giving them the responsibility, and the choice, to make changes in their behaviour and in the ways in which they deal with life’s problems. It is hoped that one significant result of the programme will be a large reduction in the number of young people who are placed in custody so that they can continue their education and go on to be productive members of their community and Malawian society. Thus far, we have completed four programmes and fifty-eight children have successfully completed the programme.
The President was extremely impressed with our work and particularly with our efforts in tackling the many challenges which we face, including a lack of adequate resources. He strongly encouraged us to continue the noble work of promoting rule of law for the benefit of the nation. This will be a great help to our work and allow us to help more children, with a view to having a better Malawi tomorrow.
Click here to see photos of the President’s visit.