By Vincent Gunde
A Malawi Congress Party (MCP) diehard of Mvera in Dowa district Mr. Rodgers Kamphangala, has described the news that Malawi has been removed from Africa’s Top 10 peaceful countries list as very worrisome and this will affect the country’s tourism sector.
Kamphangala said Malawi has been a peaceful country for years after independence from the reigns of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Dr. Bakili Muluzi, Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, Dr. Joyce Banda and Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.
He has observed that since President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera was voted into office in June, 2020 the country started losing its identity of peace-loving to political violence leading to a political party in government becoming powerful than all security institutions in the country.
The MCP diehard said from 2020 the country witnessed a group of youth from Malawi Congress Party (MCP) declaring Lilongwe a no- go district to opposition parties and activists from holding peaceful protests.
It didn’t take long, there were reports that the MCP was training its youth-Msundwe Barracks at Mtakataka and they were allegedly trained by Israeli’s, this news was not disputed by any side in government.
When a lie has overstayed, it becomes true, the activities of the trained youth in Mtakataka started bearing fruits that each and every time activists organized peaceful demonstrations in Lilongwe, it ended in tears.
Some other youth operatives were seen masking their faces to protect their identities and during street protests, police officers were siding with MCP thugs a development which made many Malawians to be awaken that protesters’ safety was not on their side.
The youth operatives grew wings they started intimidating and threatening members of opposition parties, first were DPP members from Mtsiriza and Mtandire that were whipped with big sticks, had their t-shirts torn into pieces at the Kamuzu Mausoleum, City Centre in Lilongwe.
On Saturday 24th February, 2024 MCP youth operatives carried a major ambush on DPP members at Mbowe Filling station in Lilongwe at the start of their Blue Convoy Parade that the party is existing in Lilongwe beside its members under attack by the MCP.
At Mponela in Dowa district, AFORD members were hacked with panga knives at the time they were making preparations for a rally to be addressed by the party’s President Enock Kanzingeni Chihana, in all of these incidences, police have made no arrests to this day.
Gunshots were heard at Mponela trading centre when the convoy escorting DPP Vice President for the Centre Hon. Alfred Gangata was ambushed leading to one of the minibus on the convoy torched, Police investigations on paper are progressing to this day.
“Civil Servants protesters were hacked with pangas in Lilongwe and activist Sylvester Namiwa was bruised in full view of police and MDF soldiers who did not take any attempt to rescue him from the attackers only watching the incident,” said Kamphangala.
He said the good history of Malawi as a Warm Heart of Africa was destroyed in the 5 years of President Chakwera and the MCP and it is not surprising that Malawi is now known for embracing violence time and again with President Chakwera not taking action only condemning violence on paper.
