Diocesian Bishop Condemns Chiefs Condoning Bad Cultural Practices

By Draxon Maloya

The Bishop of Karonga Diocese, Martin Mtumbuka has called on the head of state, Lazarus Mccarthy Chakwera to discipline all chiefs that are condoning lawlessness in their respective areas.

The call comes following continued violent conducts against older persons being fueled by chiefs in some districts who call witch doctors to persecute the elderly.

The Diocesian Bishop was reacting to a brutal beating of a police officer in charge of Kiwi Police Unit at Mwakamawu Village in Traditional Authority Mwakawoko where he was called to duty to save lives of a helpless family accused of practicing witchcraft.

“This chief brought in a witch doctor a development which resulted into a pandemonium that nearly claimed the life of a police officer in charge from Kiwi Police Unit, the president should discipline these Notorious chiefs,” the Bishop said.

The visibly angry Bishop also bashed the minister of Local government, Blessings Chimsinga whom he accused of tolerating chiefs promoting bad cultural practices because he is peddling cultural interests.

“I always stand for those who cannot afford to defend themselves, chiefs should not expect to be untouchable terrorizing people when they are paid using public funds, that is unacceptable and I can’t keep quite, over my dead body,” fumed the Bishop.

However the Diocesian Bishop commended the police for continued maintaining law and order, paying the ultimate price in the process for defending law and order in the fight against lawlessness.

In his remarks the Executive Director for Social Action for Development, Isaac Cheke Ziba sided with the Bishop calling on government to be more decisive in dealing away with issues of witchcraft which he said are only derailing socioeconomic growth and development.

“We join the Bishop in praising the heroism of the Malawi Police Service, government should swiftly move in to address the needs of its larger population, that was typical lawlessness because the issue of witchcraft needs to be dealt with swiftly and decisively, it is a pact in our minds of a phenomenon that derails growth of the nation, government should move in strongly,” said Ziba.

While acknowledging the Bishop’s highlights on a number of issues about chiefs based on various context the Executive Director for Malawi Network of Older Persons (MANEPO) Andrew Kavala said his institution agrees that some chiefs have to be disciplined for allowing mob justice take place in their areas without taking a lead in condemning the same.

Writing on his Facebook page (December 21, 2022) the minister of National Unity, Timothy Mtambo called for heavy punishment for those who perpetrate violence against the elderly or call them witches.

“Mob justice and mob violence is an evil in itself that Threatens the very tenets of our democracy and achievement of the Malawi Vision 2063,” Mtambo said.

The Civic Education minister further states that the what is more horrifying is that mob justice continues to occur right in the presence of community leaders, the clergy, CSOs and even the relatives of those accused though it is well know that everyone remains innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law.