CCJP urges authorities to stop National ID cards buying business to avert political violence
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe (CCJP Lilongwe) has challenged religious, traditional and political leaders to find lasting measures to stop the buying of national identification (ID) cards business, fearing the practice has potential to ignite political violence as Malawians prepare for the fresh presidential election.
CCJP Lilongwe governance project officer, Mwai Sandram, made the remarks in Lilongwe this week during the interface meeting with religious, traditional and political leaders as part of the project interventions designed to promote peaceful elections ahead of the fresh presidential poll.
The meeting was part of the Misereor Elections Project interventions, which CCJP Lilongwe is implementing with financial assistance from the German charity organization – Misereor – through the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM).
The project aims to build the capacity of local structures so that they help to motivate people to register and cast their ballots in all elections.
The participants took advantage of the meeting to seek guidance from the Commission on how they should be handling cases and people suspected to be behind the buying of national ID cards in their areas.
In his response, Sandram emphasized that traditional, political and religious leaders need to play a key role in ensuring that the malpractice is put to a stop.
“We urge you to be very vigilant in your areas. The message we have for you is: Can you monitor and observe what is happening in your areas?” he said.
He said this approach will also enable communities to come up with practical strategies for preventing such incidences in their areas.
“We want our CCJP parish committees, political and religious leaders to be vigilant and ensure that any practices that has potential to affect the preparation, the holding and outcome of the fresh presidential election should be prevented. At the end of this meeting, we will come up with proper documentation mechanisms so that we have perpetrators [of ID cards buying] are properly documented to enable the office to take the right action, which include reporting to MEC or the police because we don’t have the mandate beyond merely reporting to these institutions if the practices are bordering on crime,” said Sandram.
Senior Group Village Head (SGVH) Chitedze, who represented Traditional Authority M’bwatalika in Lilongwe, disclosed that M’bwatalika is one of the areas where reports of unscrupulous citizens buying national ID cards are rife.
But Chitedze stated that he does not have formal complaint on the matter.
“This notwithstanding, we are working together with other community and civic leaders to avert chaos that could result from suspected sale or purchase of national ID cards,” he said.
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The church and its organisations in Malawi is contributing negatively to our democracy. We have Sandram talking about IDs but cant condemn violence from opposition. If it was DPP, he would have been in the fore front to condemn it. Just as the CCAP Livingstonia Synod, the Catholic Church has a deeply partisan CCJP.
CCJP is a cousin to HRDC. It’s words are disturbingly partisan. CCJP keeps quiet when the opposition is inciting violence and terrorising people.
mob them..we are damn fucking bloody tired of dpp.
Mbava ndi DPP ndi MEC ndiye mukati mukapanganso report kumeneko???? aaaaa ndiye zamasewelatu…..inu monga simukudziwa?
Which authorities are you targeting CCJP? Just be forthright and and shame DPP. Was MCP or UTM implicated in the vice? I am sure you have heard DPP going to town accusing MCP when violent acts, if any at all, against buyers of IDs were angry malawians and not MCP in particular.
How stupid can one get to sell one’s own national ID to a politician? Under what circumstances? Poverty??? If so, for how much???
The best way is to burn the buyers of the cards alive because its obvious they are agents of the dpp. MEC and Police cannot do anything to punish them. Burn them alive and jefule should relieve them through her magic
You seem to be an MCP young pioneer from Chakwera’s Nsundwe Boys.
Mob justice makes sense. Use it. Achieve results.
Why always talk of violence violence and not peace and unity. In a home where parents are always talk about witchcraft the children grow within that context and end up imagining those acenarios and ens up accusing or creating witchcraft stories against neighbours. Therefore if the acts of buying cards is really happening lwta rebuke it in the strongest terms but let’s not encourage violence CCJP remember what your fellow guys did in Rwanda
CCPJ is another HRDC – an organisation which is partisan and useless.
Unfortunatelythe news here us about CCJP not what you call CCPJ. FUCK OFF CADET!
Our country is being destroyed by biased people like Sandram.
CCJP is another CSO which has lost its marbles. First, the issue of buying ID cards is exaggerated by the opposition for political reasons. Second, why hasn’t CCJP condemned Chakwera for telling people to form militias?
People, get the facts first before commenting on issues you don’t understand. Sandram was responding to a question concerning the buying of id cards that someone asked within the meeting, so why should he talk about Chakwera and other issues which didn’t arise on that particular meeting? It’s the same half-brain mentality that many malawians are arguing the courts should have annulled the parliamentary and local elections when nobody asked the courts to do so within the constitutionally stipulated period of 8days, wake up malawians, don’t just defend evil for the sake of it!
Has CCJP condemned the inciting of violence by Chakwera? Has CCJP condemned MCP for violence unleashed on businesses and property? Has CCJP condemned violence from Nsundwe Boys? Our country is being destroyed by this type of selective and partisan criticism. I am Catholic but I feel ashamed to see CCJP sink this low.
We should form militias , simply because we don’t have police , and those buying ID are Cadets brothers of malawi police , who so ever is against this idea of forming groups to defend our rights is the one who is buying these ID