Unknown thugs have petrol bombed a vehicle at the house of Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) chairperson Timothy Mtambo in Lilongwe.

HRDC vice chairperson Gift Trapence told YFM that the vehicle was set ablaze in the early hours of Thursday.

HRDC has been organizing protests to force embattled Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah to resign due to her alleged failure to conduct credible presidential elections.

Trapence said the thugs threw petrol bombs at the compound in order to burn the house but the attack was foiled.

“It was lucky that they managed to put off fire. The intention was to burn the house and unfortunately there were children in the house,” he said.

Trapence said they have reported the matter to police with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cadets as the prime suspect.

“The first suspects are the DPP cadets because they have been talking on their social media groups in terms of the intention to petrol bomb houses of critics and we are not surprised with what has happened,” Trapence said.

He added that he is optimistic that the police will act on the matter.

“We hope that this time police will do something because the police as always shield the DPP cadets who are the prime suspects,” he said.

The accused DPP through its publicity secretary Nicholus Dausi has distanced the party from the attack and advised the victim to report the matter to police.