Chakwera swears in peace commissioners

President Lazarus Chakwera has described the Malawi Peace and Unity Commission as key to strong institutional framework to facilitate peace building initiatives and deal with threats to national peace and unity.

Speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe yesterday during the swearing in of the first cohort of 11 peace and unity commissioners appointed in November this year and confirmed by the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament, the President said events in recent memory and at various points in Malawi’s history are a sufficient cause for having the Peace and Unity Commission as a safety net.

He said: “We may not have had any armed conflict here, but as we all know, there have been many occasions on which our people’s religious, regional, tribal, political and moral sensibilities have either been intentionally or inadvertently stoked and provoked to destabilise the country.”

Chakwera said to safeguard the country’s peace and create the conditions necessary for sustaining development and attracting investment to achieve the Malawi 2063 objectives, the construction of the pillars of peace is imperative.

He said: “Since the objective of building peace is to safeguard the enjoyment of civil liberties and economic rights of all Malawians, it is imperative that we have this peace and unity commission to identify the structural factors in the socioeconomic fabric of our nation that need to be confronted to neutralise their capacity to perpetuate inequalities that often form the basis of violence, injustice, and a breakdown in the public’s observance and respect of the rule of law.”

In an interview after the swearing in, veteran human rights advocate Emma Kaliya, who is among the newly appointed commissioners, observed that the commission has come at the right time when the country is going towards elections when many things happen, especially with the elections fever.

She said as commissioners, they ought to collectively demonstrate diligence to the nation, be impartial in their decisions, and ensure that they are serving Malawians well.

“I have always wanted to see a Malawi where I’m not identifying myself as someone from the North or the Centre, or the Southern Region. I hope to see a Malawi where we can just call ourselves Malawians and not have to describe ourselves by region or by tribe,” said Kaliya.

The commissioners include Sheikh Dr. Ali Makalani and the Reverend Zacc Kawalala who are representing the faith community; Bishop Mary Nkosi and Paramount Chief Kyungu representing traditional leaders; Dr. Francis Mkandawire from the business community; Simon Munde representing people with disabilities; a youth representative Mwandida Theu and Kaliya from the civil society.

Ex-officio members of the commission include solicitor general Alison M’bang’ombe; Ministry of Local Government, Unity, and Culture Principal Secretary Dr Elizabeth Gomani-Chindebvu and Ministry of Homeland Security Principal Secretary Oliver Kumbambe.

The commission comes at a time when Malawi is facing political conflicts such as the intra-party squabbles in the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose factions are in court following a sequence of proceedings on different issues related to the party’s positions and operations.

Additionally, the governing Tonse Alliance key parties, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UTM Party have had their supporters clash in the presence of the President and Vice-President Saulos Chilima. n