A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] on Tuesday expressed concern [press release] about increasing mob violence in Malawi, urging authorities to act to alleviate the situation. Spokesperson Cécile Pouilly expressed particular concern that mob uprisings have successfully been able to attack government buildings and remove individuals from custody. In one instance a man was removed from a police station and killed after he was accused of murder. In a similar instance, a mob set fire to a local court to prevent three accused murderers from receiving bail. The UN is calling for increased government action in response:

We urge the authorities in Malawi to act promptly to identify and prosecute those involved in mob killings, and to offer remedy to victims. We also urge the authorities to address the root causes of such attacks and to launch an awareness campaign to encourage people to report crimes to police rather than take justice into their own hands.

In recent months, government authorities in Malawi have also spoken out about the increasing violence. In February several members of Parliament claimed that Army forces were responsible for killing [Nyassa Times report] two villagers and terrorizing communities in Dzalanyama. In Late March President Arthur Peter Mutharika [Bloomberg profile] called for peace and an end to mob violence when he released the following statement via Facebook.