Chisi says Sept 7 peaceful protests ‘useless’

Leader of one of the tiny parties in the country says the planned September 7 peaceful protests organized by civil society organisations is a waste of time, waste of money and useless.

John Chisi of Umodzi Party said this is not the right time for protests, saying this the time to mobilise people to go and register for the forthcoming elections.

“These demonstrations donot  achieve anything. It is a waste of time. It is a waste of money because police are to be there and are paid for the time they are there, demonstrations are costly,” he said.

He accused the CSOs of being funded by some political parties which he has not named.

“Demonstrations are there to confuse us and make our lives very difficult,” he said.

But respected political commentator Humphrey Mvula said it is a Constitutional right for any group to go and protests against any issue.

He said this democratic right enshrined in the Republican Constitution cannot be taken away, saying demonstrations have achieved a lot in bringing awareness to the authorities on some crucial issues of national importance.