The Gonapamuhanya Festival, a cultural celebration for the Tumbuka people, started with promise on Friday, but literally ended in tears amid skirmishes from warring camps on Saturday.
Police had to fire tear gas to quell the situation, which was triggered by the long-standing rivalry between the reigning Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe Joseph Bongololo Gondwe and Mtima Gondwe whose supporters believe he was cheated out of his chieftaincy inheritance following the death of his father, Walter Gondwe in 2018.
According to interviews with eye witnesses, some youths supporting Bongololo Gondwe derided Mtima Gondwe’s backers in song, prompting them to retaliate by throwing stones. Police had to intervene.
Group village head (GVH) Mwendapadera told The Nation on Saturday that the firing of tear gas affected the area of GVH Chilongozgi where the house of the late Chikulamayembe XII, Walter Gondwe, which is also Mtima’s house, is located.
“The tear gas was fired even at the house of the late Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe the XII where his aged wife and other elderly people who cannot run live.
“It is the young people who blocked the road after being insulted by people who were going for the celebrations and they started pelting vehicles with stones after being angered by the insults, but what wrong did the elderly do?” Mwendapadera asked.
During speeches at Kadumulira, Second Vice President Enock Chihana condemned the political interference in choosing rightful heirs to thrones in chieftaincies, which he said contributes to divisions and retards development.
Chihana emphasised that for development to flourish, royal families must be free to choose their leaders.
“Chieftaincy is culture and there is no way government should be intervening on how a leader is chosen at community level because what government does is to facilitate the formal process of that particular person,” he said.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Patricia Wiskes urged traditional leaders to instillthe spirit of promoting culture among young people to ensure that there is transition of cultural values.
On his part, Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe said cultural festivals are an integral part of promoting different cultural values and unity among different ethnic groups.
The festival’s national organising committee chairperson Jean Chilinda emphasised the significance of the event, highlighting its role in fostering unity and peaceful coexistence among the Tumbuka people and other tribes.
“The festival serves as a platform for the Tumbuka people to come together and celebrate their rich cultural heritage,” she said.
This year’s Gonapamuhanya Cultural Festival, which started last Friday, reached its peak on Saturday with the laying of wreaths on Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe 1 tombstone at Mphande hills.
Held under the theme ‘Culture and integrity: The backbone of development’, the main event was held at Kadumuliro Cultural Site in Bolero, Rumphi District.
Gonapamuhanya is a celebration of the arrival of the first Tumbuka king, Gonapamuhanya, who ruled the Nkhamanga Kingdom.
The chieftaincy started when Mlowoka came to Malawi in 1780. The name is derived from his crossing of Lake Malawi from Tanzania.
