Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Simplex Chithyola Banda, has put Speaker of Parliament Sameer Suleman under intense pressure, accusing him of failing to protect lawmakers after police arrested two Members of Parliament while official Parliamentary Committee meetings were in progress.

Chithyola Banda says the Speaker has now been compelled to engage the Inspector General of Police following the controversial arrests, which have sparked outrage within the opposition ranks.

Speaking to Zodiak Online after leading a delegation of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) MPs to confront the Speaker, Chithyola Banda said the incident raises serious questions about the safety, security and independence of legislators.

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"This is not just about two MPs. This is about the safety of every Member of Parliament. If MPs can be arrested in the middle of official committee work, then Parliament itself is under threat," said Chithyola Banda.

The arrested lawmakers are Sosten Gwengwe, Chairperson of Parliament's Budget Committee, and Sam Kawale, a member of the Transport Committee. Both remain in police custody despite their respective committees still being in session -- a move critics describe as a direct assault on parliamentary operations.

In a dramatic escalation, MCP MPs have declared an open boycott of all Parliamentary Committee meetings until their colleagues are released.

Earlier on Tuesday, opposition MPs walked out of committee rooms in protest, paralysing key parliamentary business and sending a strong message to both the Speaker and law enforcement authorities.

The standoff now threatens to plunge Parliament into a deeper institutional crisis, as tensions grow over what the opposition is calling the criminalisation of legislative work.