Malawi’s Paramount Chief Kyungu urges students to desist from politics

By Jordan Simeon-Phiri, MEC Stringer

Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga and Chitipa districts has advised students of Marianist Initiative for Rural Artisans Christian Life and Education (MIRACLE) technical college in Karonga district not to desist from being used by greedy politicians in the forth coming political campaigns in readiness for the May 21 tripartite polls if they are to grow in productive citizens.

Kyungu offered this piece of advice Saturday afternoon when he took time off his busy schedule to attend the closing ceremony of the college’s week long cultural week whereby students at the institution were given an opportunity to display their cultural values through dressing, language and traditional dances.

In his speech as a guest of honour, the Paramount Chief warned the students without mincing words not to form school political party groups that will be used by greedy politicians during campaign which is due to open on March 20 to castigate or disrupt other party meetings.

“Let me take this opportunity to urge you and any other student in Malawi not to be used during campaign by politicians. They will entice you with money to buy beer to disturb their opponents? rallies or offer them morale during their political party meetings, say no that.

“This is not your time for politics. Right now concentrate on your studies and excel in life as education is power that will liberate you from the miserable conditions as also you have a future to shape. Time for politics is coming but not now”, Kyungu said.

He also issued a stern warning to male teachers against exploiting and abusing students by dangling carrots to mess up with their education, saying as a HE4SHE champion he will not tolerate any deplorable behavior that would ruin a girl child’s future.

“As a traditional leader myself and a HE4SHE champion, I will not fold my arms and watch teachers who take advantage of girls poverty and entice them with money in the process destroying their education neither will I clap hands for harmful cultural beliefs such as kuthola minga and kutsatsa fumbi at the expense of a girl child,” Kyungu said.

Taking her turn, the college’s Principle Wanangwa Sichone said her school conducts this cultural event annually as one way of unifying students through various activities in terms of culture.

She said the country is blessed with very rich cultural values that when brought together and preserved are capable of developing Malawi through foreign currency brought by tourists.

“These activities give our students an opportunity to tell us who they are, where they are from and what they are capable of doing. We are glad that during this week we were able to interact in various languages that are spoken in Malawi, students were able to sing and dance traditional dances such as gule wamkulu, ingoma, beni, mwinowe, manganje and many more from across Malawi,” Sichone said.

Speaking on behalf of the students, Messiah Kawiya hailed the school administration for the week that according to him had taught all students cultural lessons that no any other culture is superior to the other and that they will cherish for the event for years to come.

MIRACLE technical college is a Catholic institution under Karonga diocese that is run by Marianists brothers with the enrollment of about five thousand students.