MP Kalindo calls foreigners ‘dogs’ grabbing land to grow tea in Malawi: Raise concerns for Thyolo, Mulanje people
Mulanje South MP Bon Kalindo was on Wednesday forced in parliament to withdraw a statement after he called all foreigners who grab land from Malawians as dogs.
The legislator was contributing to a Land Survey Bill.
“We should get back the land from these dogs. Why should they get our land, grow tea and sell us the tea instead of us grow the tea and sell them the tea,” said Kalindo amid constant applause from the opposition members of parliament.
The eloquent parliamentarian, who also doubles as a stand up comedian, said he will die fighting for the landless people of Mulanje and Thyolo where foreign tea estate owners acquired their land for tea growing business.
“We are slowly giving this country to the dogs, people of Mulanje and Thyolo have nothing to show, they are lonely, the government need to come in and help them,” he said.
However, Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Atupele Austin Muluzi asked Speaker Richard Msowoya to force Kalindo withdraw the word “dogs” to which the parliamentarian obliged and replaced it with foreigners.
Throughout his contribution, Kalindo received rare standing ovation from his fellow back benchers, especially the opposition and independent MPs because he was very articulate and showed his vast knowledge of land problems of Thyolo and Mulanje.
Kalindo is constructively expelled from his party so government MPs just looked at him.
The governing Democratic Progressive Party brands Kalindo as a political rubble rouse and “attention seeker”.
But political scientist at University of Malawi, Boniface Dulani, says the Thespian-cum-politician cannot be ignored.
The Land Survey Bill has been passed into law.
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It is becuse of the ‘Dogs’ that these areas thrived and the population ballooned after the second world war. Not only did the life expectancy of the local population increase due to improved living standards but the economic opportunities attracted labour from surrounding areas, including Mozambique who married and settled there. Maybe Kalindo’s ancestors were also foreigners at one time. That our honerable MP’s applaud such sentiment is even more alarming.