Hundreds yesterday took part in a protest march whose theme song was Bob Marley’s Africa Unite as civil society organisations (CSOs) petitioned the South African High Commission in Lilongwe, protesting against attacks by South Africans on immigrants, including Malawians.
The marchers chanted: “Unite for the Africans abroad! Unite for the Africans a yard! Unite for it’s later [Africa uniting] than you think! … So-o Africa unite!…”
The march started at Parliament Round-about along the Presidential Road and turned at Capital Hotel Round-about before heading towards the South African Embassy where they presented their petition outlining their demands to a visibly shaken South African High Commissioner Mbuyane Mokeane soon after reading the contents aloud.
As the music was blasting from the public address system mounted on a truck, the marchers could be heard either singing along the songs of peace by Bob Marley, Salif Keita, Lucky Dube and Evison Matafale or chanting songs which were promptly composed on the scene calling for action from the South African government to stop the xenophobic attacks.
The petition, among other things, is suggesting how best the South African government can address the xenophobic utterances and attacks which, in the CSOs’ opinion, are stemming from “structural inequalities among South Africans that are rooted in apartheid and white privileges.”
In her brief response, Mokeane said she would dispatch the petition to her government for appropriate action.
She said: “Fellow Africans, I wish to thank the CSOs for this petition and also promise that this petition will be forwarded to Pretoria.”
The petition has been signed by Billy Mayaya, a human rights defender; Gift Trapence who is executive director of Centre for the Development of People (Cedep); Robert Mkwezalamba from Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC); Lucky Mbewe, executive director of Youth Empowerment and Civic Education (Yece) and Timothy Mtambo, executive director for Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation (CHRR). n
