Mutharika won’t apologize to Tumbukas for Gonapamuhanya violence: State House says Chikuyalamayembe calls ‘misguided’
President Peter Mutharika will not be apologizing to following the fracas on September 30 when members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wreaked havoc at the Gonapamuhanya ceremony, State House has said.
During the Gonapamuhanya ceremony, DPP youth cadets clad in their party attire, threw stones at opposition party leaders that attended the cultural ceremony at Bolero in Rumphi including Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president and leader of opposition in parliament, Lazaros Chakwera.
On Friday at a news conference in Mzuzu,Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe of through his chief advisor and spokesperson chief principal group village head Kawazamawe, demanded an apology from President Mutharika for his party’s undemocratic conduct.
“As Tumbukas, we are very disappointed with what happened. We were expecting to celebrate [our] culture, but we were insulted by the fracas. We discovered that there were some other party [DPP] officials who were influencing the boys to cause problems,” he said.
But State House press secretary Mgeme Kalilani has said President Mutharika has said calls for the Head of State to apologise is misguided a she had nothing to do with the fracas.
“If what we read in the press about the incident was correct, that fracas was between politicians of different parties who were trying to outshine each other at a cultural festival. Presumably, these politicians were invited by the organisers of the event themselves,” Kalilani said.
Kalilani wondered how the President comes into this fracas for him to apologise, further stating that the issue is between organisers of the event, politicians and the police.
Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Grace Chiumia already apologised during the event on behald of DPP and government.
But the Tumbuka chiefs want President to either go in person at Chikulamayembe headquarters to say sorry formally or send a delegation as per tradition.
“He [Mutharika] leads all of us, and what happened on that day is something which has disappointed the Tumbuka people in the country, Zambia and other regions,” said Kawazamawe.
Chairperson of the Gonapamuhanya organising committee ceremony, chief principal group village head Chikalamba Gondwe stressed that the ruling DPP cadets were responsible for the violence .
The chiefs wondererd why other cultural events are cerebrated peacefully and only Tumbuka event was battle ground for DPP to fight opposition.
During the cultural event, the Tumbuka people commemorate the first Chikulamayembe named Gonapamuhanya because of his tendency to bask in the sun after eating.
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Don’t give them vote including Jappie, Grace Obama Chiumia, Goodall Gondwe, Richard Msowoya plus plus, vindere VA anthu vakufikapo
We teach our children in schools that he was called Gonapamuhanya because he used to sleep on a raised platform, “a bed of sorts?”. And here you say because he “used to bask in the sun after eating”.
Which is which?
Vuto ndikuliona apa ndi eni ake atumbuka. Anzao amachita zitsangalalo zao mwamtendere chifukwa anzaowo ndiokonda mtendere. Atumbuka vuto lawo ndikukula mtima. They think they are the best. In fact they are the worst. If they think they can embarrass the President, then agwa nayo. The best the tumbukas can do is to accept that APM is their president and they are his subjects. Period!!!!
Chalo ndimazyolo chika zyola agamphani sono pala imwe mukukhumba mutimbanizse soni zizamukukolani in 2019
Bravo chikulamayembe
I warn any one who is cheating himself to be a cadets in North will deal with any cadets in North DPP has completely end in North from now on North has no president
These chiefs are very silly. Ngati mwaledzera ndi ndale zingomwani mathobwa anuwo. Do you think the whole president can go so stupid for something which the chief himself knows that politicians were trying to outsmart each other there? If people think the DPP will lose support in the north because of this incident then they should think twice. When the party was in the opposition Joyce Banda painted it with black paint so that people in the north should not attempt to give DPP a single vote. The issue of the July thieves was her campaign tool to discredit the… Read more »
The State House is extremely ignorant of the law as it relates to ‘ownership’. Responsibility for acts by and on behalf of the party owned by Mutharirika is a small legal cost for owning a mafia for a party–DPP. I am not surprised Mutharika and his minions would not know that–they are not legal-wise! That is why in countries where the rule of law reigns supreme it is extremely unwise to own a party that is as thuggish as DPP!
Mavwalo ghako kalilani
Dont ever come to Bolero
I think the DPP should send a delegation and apologise formally given that it would be impractical for the president to go in person. What happened that day was an insult to the Tumbukas and the DPP should not downplay the gravity of the issue. I know that if it was campaign time, an apology should have been done already.