LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) chairperson Robert Mkwezalamba has described as “deeply disturbing” the exclusion of former President Lazarus Chakwera and other former heads of state from the official commemoration of Malawi’s firs president, Ngwazi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
Mkwezalamba said it was unfortunate that politics appeared to have overshadowed a national event meant to unite Malawians in remembering the country’s first leader.
He stressed that such commemorations should rise above party interests and embrace all leaders who have played a role in Malawi’s democratic journey.
According to Mkwezalamba, the failure to invite former presidents including Lazurus Chakwera, Bakili Muluzi and Joyce Banda sends a wrong message and risks turning a national memorial into a politically selective gathering.
“As HRCC, we believe government must come out in the open and explain why leaders from other political parties were not invited to this important national function,” said Mkwezalamba.
Mkwezalamba, says national events should promote unity and inclusiveness rather than deepen political divisions.
The remarks come barely hours after the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) addressed a press briefing on Wednesday confirming that former President Lazarus Chakwera had not been invited to the state commemoration ceremony.
Reports further indicate that President Peter Mutharika himself will not attend the Kamuzu Banda memorial event, with sources suggesting this could be among the reasons other political leaders were left out of the official programme.
Meanwhile, MCP Secretary General Richard Chimwendo Banda has announced that the party will organize special prayers in honour of the late Kamuzu Banda once the official government ceremony concludes.
Kamuzu Banda, Malawi’s first President and one of the country’s most influential political figures, remains a symbol of both national identity and political history, making commemorations in his honour highly significant across party lines.
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