Blantyre, Malawi - Police fired teargas Monday to disperse rowdy street vendors in the Malawi capital, Lilongwe, as trouble erupted again when authorities chased the informal traders off the streets. Lilongwe police spokesman Kingsley Dandaula, told PANA the running battles ensued early morning at the expiration of the deadline the Lilongwe City Council gave the vendors to leave the streets and operate from designated flea markets.

'The vendors, city authorities and us (police) agreed that all vendors must move out of the streets by today (Monday, February 6th) but others were still resisting,' he said.

Most offices, banks and shops closed immediately the clashes began for fear of looting that normally follows such mayhems. But Dandaula said armed police officers were strategically stationed on street corners to check any trouble.

'We are patrolling the streets, we are in control of the situation now, no shop or office was looted, people can now move freely on the streets,' he said.

But despite the police assurance, tension was still high in the city as the vendors played hide-and-seek with the police, pelting the officers with stones at any opportunity.

Eye-witnesses said the vendors began pelting police officers when they razed their make-shift stalls and confiscated their merchandise. Boulders and burning tyres were thrown in some roads while some of the vendors vented their anger at shops and private vehicles.

Confirming the reports, Dandaula said 'A number of vehicles and shops have been smashed but we are still tabulating how many.'

Dandaula said by 3 o'clock local time, police already had 42 suspects in their custody as more arrests are being made.

'They have been charged with Conduct Likely to Cause Breach of Peace and Unlawful Breaking (into buildings),' Dandaula said.

Authorities in the city gave the vendors two weeks to clear off the streets when some vendors went about stripping naked women who wore trousers and mini-skirts. The vendors’ chairman, Steve Malunga, apologised to the women on behalf of the vendors, saying those who were stripping women were not genuine street vendors but unemployed youths and thugs.

'All vendors will move to the flea markets by Monday, February 6, and will be issued with proper IDs (Identity Cards),' he told a press conference he addressed alongside police and city authorities. 'Those who will remain in the streets are not vendors but thugs.'

But some of the vendors who remained in the streets dismissed Malunga as a ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) operative.

'He's not our chairman but a DPP official,' said a vendor who gave his name as Steve. 'There is not enough space in the flea markets to accommodate all of us.'

Malawi cities have always grappled with the menace of street vending since the dawn of multiparty politics in 1994. Street vending is blamed for the untidy look of most streets and an increase in pick-pocketing.

When he came to power in 2004, President Bingu wa Mutharika vowed to clear the streets of vendors but each time he unleashed the police on them he met stiff resistance.

Pana 07/02/2012