Atupele wows Zomba crowd: ‘Malawi in deep stress’
Thousands of people in old capital city, Zomba had to brave heavy rainfall on Sunday to attend a public rally addressed by United Democratic Front (UDF) with Machinga north east parliamentarian and presidential aspirant Atupele Austin (AA) Muluzi.
On arrival at the Mponda Freedom Ground, the UDF party motorcade – which also carried other officials like Secretary General Kennedy Makwangwala and Treasure General Dr. George Nga Mtafu – was treated to a heroes welcome as anything yellow was waved by thousands of jubilant supporters that filled almost the whole ground whilst others lined up in the streets.
Atupele told the crowds that Malawi is currently a sad nation full of fear.
He said the country which is facing the worst economic crisis is in “deep stress” and also noted that Malawi is in a “tense and polarised” state.
Atupele told the cheering crowd that the meeting was part of the programme that the party has lined up to listen and offer hope to a myriad of problems that Malawians are facing.
“Wherever we have gone people are complaining about the high cost of living and the scarcity of money. We have come in Zomba to find out if the situation is the same,” said Atupele as the crowd responded “tikuvutika” [we are in extreme poverty].
Atupele said in his tour of the country, he has heard the weeping of the mothers watching their children starve and has seen those dying without medical treatment.
He said it is unfortunate when opposition leaders and the civil society are trying to speak out on behalf of the people about these problems; the government propaganda machinery is calling them all sorts of names.
The 33-year-old politician also said, of late the government has employed “scare and intimidatory tactics in order to instil fear in the minds of its critics.”
However, Atupele said he will not move an inch on his ‘agenda for change’ because he believes it is hope for Malawians.
“I am not scared and I will never be scared, come what may. This is our country and our generation should fight to protect our hard won freedoms,” said Atupele.
He also appealed to government and authorities to uphold and respect the rule of law by respecting the court decision that lawyer Ralph Kasambara should be released on bail.
Speaking at the same rally, Mtafu called for reforms in the electoral roll to ensure that the country should have free and fair elections in 2014.
He said democracy can only be meaningful if the country is able to have free and fair elections.
Other speakers at the function were Leader of UDF in Parliament, Ibrahim Matola and UDF Chief whip Dr. Clement Chiwaya.
