Malawi National Football team, the Flames gave away a 1-nil lead to draw 2-2 against Guinea in the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Bingu National stadium in Lilongwe on Saturday afternoon.
The Flames were 1-nil up by the end of the first half after Robert Saizi gave them the lead in the 23rd minute.
The Bangwe All Stars star player finished off a Lanjesi Nkhoma cross after it hit a defender for Guinea.
The visitors levelled the scores in the 56th minute through Camara before they doubled the lead through Saidou Sow two minutes later.
Lawrence Chaziya equalized for the Flames just two minutes before the end of the match after he headed home a well taken corner kick by Saizi.
Guinea already booked their Afcon place in Ivory Coast while Flames’ dream of qualifying for the tournament came to an end on June 20 when they were held to a goalless draw by Ethiopia.
The body of former Silver Strikers player Thuso Paipi was laid to rest on Saturday afternoon at HHI Cemetery in Blantyre.
Scores of people including some football players and administrators gathered at Thuso’s parents residence at Safalao in Ndirande township, Blantyre where the funeral ceremony took place.
According to his uncle, former player for the defunct MDC United, Thango Paipi, Thuso died on Friday morning at Queen Elizabeth Central hospital after a short illness.
The former Surestream Academy winger played for The Central Bankers for six consecutive seasons before he got released at the start of the 2022 season.
Thuso Paipi was a product of Surestream Academy alongside the likes of Flames goalkeeper Brighton Munthali and other notable players like Mark Fodya, Chembezi Denis, Levison Maganizo, Mike Mkwate, Patrick Phiri, Trevor Kalema and Ernest Tambe just to mention but afew.
He will be remembered as one of Malawi’s most entertaining players ever to step onto a football pitch.
The long awaited M1 rehabilitation project will soon spin into full swing. Mota Engil on Saturday assured President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera that they have completed mobilization of all necessary equipment ready to kick off the project.
Chakwera, on his way from the North, took time to tour inspect the progress of the rehabilitation works at Chatoloma Quarry Site and Katema Village in Kasungu.
Mota Engil officials assured President Chakwera that they have mobilised all the equipment and construction materials in readiness for actual construction works.
Recently Minister of Transport and Public Infrastructure Jacob Hara admitted that delays in the rehabilitation of the M1 will lead to the increase in the contract sum for the four slots of the road.
The project has delayed to take shape due to, among others, changes in designs for the road, delays in setting up sites but also quarry crashing machines and delays in getting approvals for environmental and social management plans (ESMPs).
Speaking during a tour of Lot Four of the road which commences at Kacheche to Chiweta in Rumphi District the minister was, however, optimistic that the delay was to ensure quality works.
The 66.6-kilometre (km) long stretch is being constructed by China Henan Internat ional Corporation Group to the tune of K31.8 million euro (about K45 billion).
Hara said contractors needed time to set up, but also change of designs as what was initially planned is not what is happening so that the road is built in a better manner.
Lot 1, which covers 102 km, starts from Kamuzu International Airport Turn-off to Kasungu] has a project period of 30 months while Lot 2, an 85.5 km stretch from Kasungu-Jenda is for 18 months.
Lot 3, covering 46.7km from J enda-Mzimba Turn-off is expected to be completed in 15 months and Lot 4, covering 66. 5 km from Kacheche-Chiweta, is to be completed in 24 months.
The European Union (EU) is funding the project to the tune of 139 million euro.
Former Silver Strikers star Thuso Paipi has died today morning.
His uncle, Thango Paipi, has just confirmed the sad news saying the footballer has died after short illness at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.
Thuso Paipi
“We have lost Thuso an hour ago at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital,” he said, adding:”Thuso was admitted to the hospital two days ago and I was with him hoping for the good news but that has not been the case.”
Thuso Paipi became popular in 2017-2020 Super League season.
A Malawi Congress Party (MCP) diehard for Mvera area in Dowa district Rodgers Kamphangala, has accused opposition parties Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), United Democratic Front (UDF) and Alliance for Democracy(AFORD) of failing to support activists in holding peaceful street protests pushing the Tonse Alliance-led government to address critical issues that have rocked the country.
Kamphangala observes that opposition parties and their in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa are silent only enjoying huge allowances of K100,000 per day after attending Parliamentary sessions of Parliament.
He said President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera seems to know nothing that Malawians are in pain and suffering claiming that he is failing to address the nation on the situation the country is sailing through making the citizens to lose trust that they have a leader.
The MCP diehard says he has noted with a great concern that all planned protests against President Chakwera and his Tonse administration besides being cleared by the court of law, have been ending up in tears with the Malawi Police officers firing teargas at the protesters.
He said as evidenced by the way the Police are providing security to the demonstrators, there is a clear indication that the police are siding with evil during demonstrations claiming that MCP militias broke the Lilongwe bridge armed with pangas, catapults and big stones.
Kamphangala is of view that police had all the powers to clear the roads observing that the MCP militias did not go to court to obtain an order to stop demonstrations but instead siding with them and were the last to leave after the activists fled for their lives.
He said activists have been left alone to be holding demonstrations while the opposition parties are strategizing to use the same people that are demonstrating on the streets to support them for votes to win the 2025 elections.
The activist has reminded the MCP that without sponsoring the HRDC they would not have ousted Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika out of government wondering why today they are finding demonstrations a threat to their camp.
“MCP and President Chakwera entered into government through demonstrations, allow demonstrators to present their petition to President Chakwera for democracy to prevail in Malawi,”says Kamphangala.
Kamphangala has also accused MCP militias who were threatening activists saying:‘’Ma demo azikapanga kwawo ku Thyolo kwa Alhomwe. “ He says this type of language is tribalism at its best and should not be accepted in modern democracy.
