The Minister of Health and Population, Jappie Mhango, and his Local Government and Rural Development counterpart, Ben Malunga Phiri, were on Thursday chased at a funeral of a man who died in an accident during the protest in Rumphi on Wednesday.
The Human Rights Defenders Coaliation (HRDC) organized the protest to force members of Parliament (MPs) to pass the Electoral Amendment Bills to facilitate smooth holding of the forthcoming fresh presidential election.
Jappie Mhango vehicle being sent back by mourners
The Rumphi march ended on a sad note as a vehicle carrying a public address (PA) system ran over one on the protesters who was reportedly drunk.
Businessmen at Rumphi Boma said on Thursday that Mhango and Phiri sent a message to the bereaved family that they would attend the funeral, which took place a few kilometres from the Rumphi Central Business District.
But being anti- Electoral Amendment Bills, the mourners were not happy to have them present at the funeral.
“So, the message was sent to the two ministers to stay away or face unspecified action. But the ministers insisted that they would attend,”
The official, who had just returned from attending the burial of the protester, said the insistence of Mhango and Phiri to attend the funeral angered the mourners who mobilized themselves to rough up the ministers in the event that they went.
“And upon realizing that their safety and security could be at risk if they went ahead to attend, Mhango and Phiri drove off. It was a drama,” he said.
The video of the two ministers being sent back has since gone viral on social media
The Commander in chief of CFT people power movement Timothy Mtambo has called on Malawians living in diaspora to embrace the spirit of patriotism if they want to see real change in Malawi. Mtambo was speaking at a special event organised by MCP Diaspora and Tonse alliance partners that was attended by Malawians living in diaspora from all over the world.
The virtual event that used the video conferencing app Zoom was organised as part fundraising initiatives to raise money for the election monitors as Tonse alliance gears up to secure and safeguard the forthcoming presidential election from potential rigging. Edmund Chiphwanya who acted as the DJ for the night welcomed attendees with some music before hosts for the event Canga Kamwambi and Omega Nankhuni took over to highlight the fundraising objective of the event and to get everybody ready for the main guest
Tasked with introducing Mtambo to address the gathering, MCP Diaspora Spokesperson Chalo Mvula, expressed how thankful the diasporas were to Mtambo , who had found time amidst his busy schedules to be part of this fundraising event . Mtambo didn’t waste time but begin by telling those in diaspora that Malawi is suffering from lack of leadership, has clueless leadership that is not visionary and has left the country in a mess it is in. He expressed how sad it is that only Kamuzu was a visionary leader, who after he was gone, left the country to leaders who only think about themselves and their families , promotes nepotism, are tribalists and doesn’t care about poor Malawians.
A cross section of attendees listening to Mtambo
He went further to describe Mutharika regime as the worst to happen to Malawi, describing the regime as accidental and deserving to be voted out of power. Lack of respect for the rule of law was a point Mtambo dwelled on citing
“Mutharika does not respect the constitution, he does not respect the courts and he does not respect Malawians” In his reign, Mutharika has reduced the country to extreme problems such as lack of medication in hospitals , has lowered the standards of education and has crippled the economy
Mtambo took opportunity to explain why he shifted form human rights works to politics, arguing that he has not left human rights activism but he has added political freedom to things he is fighting for . Unpacking the philosophy behind the CFT people power movement which he launched back in April, he told the attendees that the movement is not a political party and that everyone is free to join.
He said CFT will aim to take governments to task so that the constitution can be respected and to push for the implementation of development plans. At this point Comrade Mtambo urged those in diaspora to have a spirit of patriotism for Malawi, something he said is lacking among many Malawians. He argued that the spirit of patriotism will deter people from getting involved in corruption as everyone will feel they have responsibility to take care of Malawi.
He said his CFT movement will push for patriotism to be part for the syllabus so that young people are taught from young age of these values “ The lack of patriotism is what is killing Malawi , imagine , how can someone steal money that has been donated to help people due to the Covid19 pandemic? Questioned Mtambo . He further explained that the people power philosophy will also promote an idea of leadership academies where young people shall be taught necessary skills about leadership , which includes, public speaking for them to gain confidence to even stand and speak in international conferences.
He also faulted the Mutharika regime for being quick at dismissing ideas that can help Malawi. He cited land reforms issue as an example that has seen people in areas like Thyolo struggling to find land to grow crops as majority of the land are already taken up by big companies. He was however sad that the Mutharika government silenced the debate around the issue by quickly dismissing campaigner Vincent Wandale as being mentally ill.
Commander in Chief Mtambo
On the economy and promotion of the business environment in Malawi, Mtambo said he is a big supporter of Foreign Direct investment (FDI) and he would love to see investors continue to come to Malawi. He was however cautious on the type of investors that are coming to Malawi as majority of them are not empowering the local Malawians “ Malawi need investors that can empower local people, what we see now is that some investors are bringing human resource from abroad, buying items or supplies from abroad with the local Malawians benefitting nothing” Mtambo also said it is sad that some foreign investors are involved in very small scale businesses and blamed the government for not protecting small and medium enterprises.
When asked why he endorsed Tonse alliance and the candidacy of Chalkwera and Chilima , Mtambo reminded that gathering that his short term goal is to end the presidency of Mutharika. He went further to say that in Dr Chakwera and Dr Chilima ,Malawi has a chance to have leaders that will unify the country, that will deliver development strategies that will liberate Malawi and are geared at putting Malawi on the path of greatness again
Also speaking at the event, the Diaspora leader for CFT Movement Linda Khembo Nwosu thanked the Tonse alliance for inviting Mtambo to address them . She said Mtambo is a fearless son of Malawi who has sacrificed it all to see Malawi liberated from the bondage of DPP regime . Khembo urged those in diaspora to get involved with the people power movement
The funds raise at the event will be sent to Malawi to help pay for the election Monitors . The event was patrionised by members of UTM, PP and other political parties who are part of the Tonse alliance
The Strategic director of Malawi Congress party Dr Ken Zikhale Ngoma has expressed his thanks to the leader of Tonse Alliance Dr Chakwera who visited his Nkhatabay South Constituency today. Zikhale, speaking on behalf of the people in the area said it was an honour to have the incoming President of Malawi visit the area.
President of Malawi Congress Party who is also the torchbearer of Tonse alliance has been on a campaign trail in Nkhatabay today that saw him visit areas like Chintheche. On the way, Chakwera was joined by former President Dr Joyce Banda when they stopped by at Kande, an area whose member of parliament is MCP’s chief strategist Zikhale.
Dr Chakwera in Nkhatabay
In his speech at Kande Chakwera paid tribute to some of Nkhatabay’s greats like Orton Chirwa for there role in the formation of Malawi Congress party. Chakwera said as a tourist hub there is need for an airport in Nkhatabay which he said will be named in honour of Orton Chirwa. He also spoke of the need of a good university at Bandawe Chakwera heaped praise on the MP for the area Dr Ken Zikhale Ng’oma for being development oriented despite the setbacks from the ruling DPP government which is doing little to better the lives of the people in the north.
Zikhale handing over keys of the Ambulance
Since being elected as Member of Parliament, Zikhale has embarked on some big development projects in the are including bringing piped waters and facilitating building of better schools. Over the weekend he donated an ambulance to the area and also made donations of Maize mills at Chifira. He also inaugurated the Piped water project before he addressed locals .
Zikhale is implementing impressive community projects that are improving lives of ordinary people in his constituency.
Popular Human Rights activist turned Politician Timothy Mtambo who is also The Commander in Chief of Citizens for Transformation (CFT)- People Power Movement, will this coming Tuesday 9th June, virtually address Malawians who are living in the diaspora.
According to a statement made available to 247Malawi News, Mtambo has been requested to address the diaspora by Malawi Congress Party Diaspora Network who are organising the event on behalf of alliance partners of the Tonse alliance.
In giving more details about the event spokesperson for MCP Diaspora Wing Chalo Mvula said Mtambo will address the diasporas as part of the fundraising initiative to raise money that will help in paying for election monitors. “You know, as Tonse alliance our weakness has been safeguarding our vote, and this Is the reason why we are being serious this time round with issues of election monitors, we don’t want elections to be rigged again “said Mvula
The event which has been dubbed “A chat with Commander in Chief” will see Mtambo tackle a number of issues that are currently affecting Malawi before answering questions from participants. “ We are calling on all a Malawians that are in diaspora, whether you are in RSA , UK , USA or any other country to secure your slot for the event , slots are on first come first serve basis and we have a huge demand as many people want to hear from the fearless great son of Malawi” added Mvula
Comrade Mtambo, who through his people power movement has endorsed the candidacy of Dr Lazarus Chakwera and Dr Saulos Chilima of Tonse alliance will make the address via zoom video conferencing app. Participants are expected to donate towards fundraising for the monitors to gain access to the event link. Mtambo. politician formed his CFT movement two months ago. His main short-term goal he claims is to help rid Malawi of the accidental and despotic regime ushered in by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has reduced the country to a heap of misery and social strife.
CFT Commander In Chief Timothy Mtambo
Those interested to be part of the event are urged to contact MCP or CFT diaspora groups through their Facebook pages or to follow instructions on the main poster for the event . Mtambo is scheduled to start his address at 7pm Malawi Time. Donations are also accepted from well wishers
CFT Diaspora Leader Linda Khembo-Nwosu welcomed the organisation of this event by the MCP team, highlighting that this showcases the power of Tonse alliance as an alliance with a common objective to see change in Malawi.
Malawi’s Human rights organization HRDC is set to hold national-wide demonstrations from Wednesday to Friday this week forcing President Prof. Arthur Peter Muthalika to walk out from office.
Speaking during a media briefing in Lilongwe on sunday HRDC Chairperson Gift Trapence told journalists that they have planned a three – million protests for to demand the resignation of MEC chief election officer Sam Alufandika and also for Muthalika to resign due to his unprofessional leadership as a state president.
HRDC officials at the Presser
HRDC have been at the forefront of demonstrations in which they were demanding the resignation of former MEC chaiR Jane Ansah.
HRDC officials said President Muthalika’s recorded State of National Address ( SONA) that was played in the parliament last Friday clearly revealed that he has failed to administrate the country.
Trapense also assured Malawians that President seat will be vacant by June 3 if MEC fails to conduct the elections.
The protests ate scheduled to take place in Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre.
