Increased racism moves MP Musowa to ask Malawi govt for action: Cites Mpingwe Sports Club

Member of Parliament for Mulanje Bale, Victor Musowa of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has asked Parliament to take action and deal with increasing cases of racial discrimination being perpetrated by foreign nationals against Malawians.

Using private members motion, Musowa said some places of entertainment and hotels are barring Malawians from access and that in some hotels, Malawians are being racially abused.

The legislator has since called upon the Legal Affairs and Foreign Affairs committees of Parliament to zero in on the matter and come up with a solution to ensure the malpractice is tamed.

Musowa cited an example where some Malawians were allegedly turned away from accessing Mpingwe Sports Club on claims of racial abuse.

“I am a sober parliamentarian who always think about tomorrow. I opened it to the public so that we should have an ample time to look at the reality,” said Musowa after he moved his private member’s motion.

However, Minister of Homeland Security Richard Chimwendo Banda while agreeing with Musowa that the problem is significant and needs to be dealt with, said investigations have shown that some clubs such as Mpingwe are membership-based hence only paid-up members are allowed entry.

“When we see such issues of racism coming up, we should condemn them,” said Chimwendo Banda.

He cautioned against generalising Indians as bad, saying there are some who are contributing positively to the national development.

Chimwendo Banda, nonetheless, said Indians must respect that Malawians have rights too, including to proper earnings.”

He said the government is committed to enforcing relevant laws to deal with the issue adequately.