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First of all let me reiterate my shock and dismay at the recent atrocities meted out on you and your household by some brazen low lives. In my contributions on Nyasanet and MalawiTalk, on this topic I stated that I have also recently been affected by similar brutalities when 3 people close to me had their properties ransacked by bandits armed with panga knives and big stones. What is most disturbing is that in all three cases, the police have not apprehended anyone. Therefore, it is evident that these brazen criminals are still roaming our streets and terrorising even more people.

I support this campaign 100% and I applaud you for initiating it. Our authorities may not realise the full extent of the crisis, perhaps because they often reside in fenced mansions protected by armed guards from G4S and other companies at the tax payers expense. It is us, the ordinary people that have to bear the full brunt of these criminals. In an attempt to give ourselves some sense of security and peace of mind we have stretched our resources to hire watchmen . But even this seems inadequate as the case of your (Rafiq's) watchmen and house servants testifies. So, what options do we have as a people? Shall we live under perpetual fear that our hard earned possessions are in danger of being looted by these criminals? It is time to highlight the extent of the problem and call upon those in authority to take action now. I want to believe that even the Ngwazi would be unhappy to hear that innocent, law abiding citizens are living under siege in this nation. Let us count the costs, not only to the victims, but also to the country at large.

Case 1: my sister who was attacked last month is a young nurse. After the robbery she was devastated and her first thought was to MIGRATE and work in a country where she will feel secure. In this instance, Malawi will have lost a precious and scarce resource to some Western country.
Case 2: My friend who was attacked in Lilongwe's Area 6 is an expatriate from the Commonwealth Secretariat, making a contribution to this nation at no cost to the Government. After the attack she was devastated and demanded to be redeployed elsewhere, where she and her family would be safe. She has no kind words for Malawi and she has told me she would not advise any of her country folks to set foot in this nation. Malawi's image has been tainted. Malawi may lose out on investment, tourism, technical assistance etc because of this.
Case 3: the last of my three close cases is a civil servant on Capitol Hill. He earns no more than K50,000 a month and it took him donkey years of savings to accumulate the property that he had, only for criminals to relieve him of the same in one fell swoop! Sometimes this friend of mine has relied on allowances from foreign trips to make ends meet. When he goes to meetings and conferences abroad he skips dinner to save some dime. When delegates from other countries go sight-seeing or shopping he stays in his hotel room to save a dollar. But thanks to the spiralling crime situation in Malawi, all his frugality has been in vain. The cost to Government is that crime will deter people from working hard; making savings and accumulating property. Government policy needs to encourage savings and hard work.
From time to time the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office has also issued travel advisory warning on Malawi following criminal acts on tourists on Mount Mulanje, Lake Malawi National Park.

These cases illustrate the economic costs to both the victims and the Government. It is this message that we have to take to the relevant authorities, and if need be, the Head of State himself for his swift and decisive intervention. We need a safer Malawi. Crime will deter investors from coming to our shores. Crime will spell death for our already fragile tourism industry. Crime will taint the image of our beautiful country. Crime will drive away precious human resources out of our country. Crime will make those of us who are living abroad to think twice about returning to Malawi and investing our savings there. Crime traumatised the victims. Let us root out crime now!

In one of my posting to Nyasanet and Malawi Talk I outlined TEN Proposals to deal with crime. I live in the Caribbean (where crime is a big problem) and I know that these strategies work. Caribbean countries that have implemented similar strategies (Barbados, Antigua, Bahamas) are much safer than others (Jamaica). [I could reproduce them, if anyone cares to read]

Lastly, I note that you said our input would be confidential. Personally I don't mind if my contribution is shared, circulated, quoted and used in god faith as long as it is acknowledged. In fact, I would like to see this culmunate in a well articulated petition for the attention of the Head of State (if need be) and copied to the IG of Police, City Council CEOs, DCs, MPs, Chiefs [this is just a proposal and I must say, I'm not sure of the protocals involved. But I know Rafiq, you're well versed in advocacy issues, so you are best placed to strategise on how best to take this messag so that something positive comes out of it].