EU Diplomat Expelled from Malawi

The European Union’s (EU) ambassador to Malawi has been ordered to leave the country after she joined a demonstration protesting police brutality against women.

The unrest was sparked after reports emerged of police allegedly torturing and raping women during demonstrations following the presidential election results earlier in the year.

Sandra Paesen has been given a week to return to Brussels, just one year since she took up her post in Malawi.

The Malawian government previously wrote to the EU complaining that Paesen had participated in protests in the capital, Lilongwe, in response to the allegations of police violence in Msundwe.

Condemning the actions of the police, the ambassador had previously called for an investigation into the incident for “light to be shed on what happened”.

“We want an investigation [and] we don’t want any violence against women in this country or any other country”, she said.

The UK’s High Commissioner to Malawi, Holly Tett, has joined Paesen in calling for an investigation.

This is not the first time the police in Malawi have been accused of sexual violence towards women.

The NGO Gender Coordination Network has collected evidence from women and girls who have said they have been assaulted by police.

An internal commission of inquiry has since been established to look into the allegations.