Lilongwe celebrates Queens Baton Relay in style
Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe was on fire on Saturday, January 25, 2014 as both young and old people joined celebrations for the Glasgow 2014 Queens Baton Relay, which touched nearly every corner of the city.
After Vice President Khumbo Kachali had led Malawians in welcoming the Queens Baton in a lively ceremony at Civo Stadium on Friday, the celebrations hit a climax Saturday as the Baton was relayed across the city’s townships.
The relay started from the Civic Centre where the Baton was kept after the opening ceremony through to Area 18 then Area 49. From Area 49, the procession reached Mtandile passing through African Bible College into Area 47 before joining Paul Kagame road via Area 15.
From Paul Kagame road, the Baton was taken through Kamuzu Procession road to PMF before connecting to the populous township of Mchesi.
From Mchesi, the party moved to Biwi, Chilinde, going up to Area 23 before rejoining Chidzanja road. After reaching the road junction close to Kamuzu Barracks, the procession headed into City Centre, passing through Kamuzu Institute and connecting into Kenyatta Drive before reaching the final destination- Bingu Conference Centre.
At Bingu Conference Centre, the Baton was handed back to the bearers by Principal Secretary for Youth and Sports Justin Saidi in the presence of Malawi Olympic Committee (Moc) general secretary Helene Mpinganjira and other sports officials.
It was expected to be flown to Zambian capital, Lusaka on Sunday, January 26. Apart from African countries, the Baton will also visit Commonwealth countries in Asia, Oceania, America, the Caribbean and Europe, covering a total of 190,000 Kilometers in 248 days.
Malawi is the 14th destination covered by the Queens Baton out of the 71 Commonwealth member states it is expected to visit.
