Malawi: Mayor Jomo Hits Back Over Fuel Queue Brawl Video

What the report says

Blantyre City Mayor Isaac Jomo Osman is defending his conduct at fuel stations after a video circulated showing him confronting a man at the Mount Pleasant TotalEnergies service station in Blantyre, Malawi. The account, reported by Nyasa Times and distributed by AllAfrica, says the footage renewed criticism of the mayor’s actions in public queues, especially after an earlier incident this year in which he was filmed slapping a woman. Osman later apologized for that episode.

In a live Facebook broadcast, Osman denied beating the man in the latest incident, but said he did push him. He argued that he goes to fuel stations to stop queue jumping and keep order as motorists wait for fuel shortages to ease. He said his intervention helps protect people who might otherwise be pushed aside, including women and other vulnerable motorists.

The response has been sharply divided. Consumer rights activist Wazamazama Katatu said managing queues at fuel stations should be handled by police and other authorities, given the pressure created by the fuel crisis. Human rights activist Michael Kaiyatsa also questioned whether Osman had changed his behavior since his earlier apology. At the same time, one motorist quoted in the report supported the mayor’s role, saying there were multiple queues at the station and that she would not have received fuel without his intervention.