The two alleged gays who gained fame late last year for their public engagement ceremony in Malawi have stated they were forced to confess to claims that are untrue. Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, arrested on December 28, told a court that they were tortured "heavily" during that night to put false statement of sexual activities. - "We were beaten heavily, as if we are hardcore criminals," said Monjeza.
But Blantyre Police Station Detective Sergeant Justine Magreta denied the accusations in court. The Blantyre Magistrates Court is expected to make a ruling on the case on March 22 2010.
- Malawian gays have cried foul over what they call 'underground arrests and intimidation' of perceived gay people.
Malawi Gay Rights Movement (Magrim) Spokesperson, Wongani James Phiri, said today , at least, 15 gays have been arrested since December 28, 2009 whebn the issue of the suspected gay couple of Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga got arrested for staging a public gay engagement.
Phiri said Malawian gays were now living in "fear, not knowing what will happen tomorrow simply bacause of their sexual orientation".
"So far, over 15 of our members have been arrestedon various charges, though we may not link them directly to the issue of Chimbalanga and Monjeza. Why have things ch…
The Malawi Gay Rights Movement (Magrim), a representative body of Malawian gays, plans to hold demonstrations against the continued 'intimidation and harassment' of gay suspects Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza. Magrim made the resolution at a gays and lesbians meeting held in Blantyre Tuesday morning. - Magrim Spokesperson, Wongani James Phiri, said they were unhappy with the continued keeping of the two gays in custody, some 26 days after being arrested on December 28, 2009.
"We are demonstrating on Sunday and our march will start from Upper Kamuzu Stadium through to old Blantyre Town Hall. We demand the unconditional release of the two," said Phiri.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga hav…
- Arrested Malawian gays, Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza, have complained bitterly over "too tight handcuffs', saying it seems Police officers want to punish them for 'doing nothing wrong' by pressing the handcuffs too hard on them.
The two complaining loudly on Monday, not for the first time though, telling a Police officer: "Why are you pressing the handcuffs too hard on us as if we are hardcore criminals? Have we stolen anybody's property?"
However, the Police officers merely promised that they would loosen the cuffs in court.
Monjeza and Chimbalanga's case continued on Monday, and three witnesses are expected to testify against them.
- Gay lovebirds Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza on Saturday made history in Malawi when they spiced their festive season with an open gay engagement ceremony, the first recorded public activity in the country’s history.
The ceremony was held at Mankhoma Lodge in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre, and was witnessed by hundreds of bewildered patrons.
Clad in traditional matching outfits, the bride and groom had their wonderful day under two tents elected in the lodge grounds. The whole place turned into a beehive of activity as people pushed and shoved each other in a quest to get a glimpse of Tiwonge and Steven during such a rare occasion.
Some people stared in wonder a…
- Twenty-four hours have now passed since Wednesday last week, when Malawi's president Bingu wa Mutharika assured Malawians that the fuel crisis the country is grappling with would come to an end.
Mutharika issued the assurance when the going got tough for government, and civil society organisations demanded that he makes his position clear.
Today, Monday, vehicles are still lining up, with lines that simply seem too long they cannot end.
"Let us wait and see what happens in the next twenty-four hours," Mutharika said last week.
Motorists are still waiting for the long-coming fuel that seems nowhere near the destination.
- Malawi commemorated World AIDS Day on December 1, but the toast of the day seemed to be the activities held in Malawi's commercial city, Blantyre, where assembly officials provided a pavilion for gays who were out to preach their vulnerability to HIV and AIDS.
Blantyre held the commemoration event at Kachere Primary School in Ndirande, the district's most populous township. Residents were, however, astounded upon learning that one of the pavlions belonged to gays, who wanted to press the message that HIV and AIDS knew no boundaries home to policy makers and community members.
Their decision to erect a pavilion coincied with an appeal by Malawi's UNAIDS Country Director that the country a…
Prince Albert of Monaco of France visited various development initiatives he has been funding in Malawi this week. He also met President Bingu wa Mutharika to explore means the European nation could establish an embassy in the southern African country. - Prince Albert expressed satisfaction with the quality of infrastructure put up especially a maternity wing in Dowa district from funds he provided to Malawian organizations.
“It is the responsibility of all of us to help each other and make life better,” said Albert.
He said he would continue to channel funds towards various causes in Malawi, hoping to save many lives otherwise condemned to fateful devices.
Malawi still ra…
- The government of Malawi pays soldiers who fought in the Second World War K200 (US$1.25) as pension benefits.
This is hardly enough to buy two Kilogrammes of the staple maize flour, let alone sustain the veterans- people who sacrificed a lot to a achieve world peace.
Some of the veterans, only 32 now remain in Malawi at the moment, expressed disappointment with the amount of pension benefits they get monthly, describing it as a “mockery to our efforts”.
Brigadier General John Msonthi, one of the Malawi Defense Force soldiers who have been soliciting help for the veterans, confirmed the development and figure.
Msonthi blamed lack of resources for the veterans’ predicam…
- The government of Malawi pays soldiers who fought in the Second World War K200 (US$1.25) as pension benefits.
This is hardly enough to buy two Kilogrammes of the staple maize flour, let alone sustain the veterans- people who sacrificed a lot to a achieve world peace.
Some of the veterans, only 32 now remain in Malawi at the moment, expressed disappointment with the amount of pension benefits they get monthly, describing it as a “mockery to our efforts”.
Brigadier General John Msonthi, one of the Malawi Defense Force soldiers who have been soliciting help for the veterans, confirmed the development and figure.
Msonthi blamed lack of resources for the veterans’ predicam…
- Government has reiterated the need to respect the rights of people with physical challenges.
Minister for people with disabilities, Reen Kachere, noted that cases of rape had drastically reduced against physically challenged people, as opposed to the past when they were believed to be a curer for HIV and AIDS.
"Things are really improving," said Kachere.
Malawi continues to experience a paralyzing fuel shortage that authorities blame on technical problems at the Mozambique's Beira Port. - The country has for the past four weeks gone with empty tanks at fuel service centres, forcing vehicles to wait for hours on end in a quest to get fuel.
Officials from Petroleum Importers Limited and the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority say they are doing all they can to pressurize officials at Beira Port to deliver.
Tankers of fuel remain stuck at Beira with loads of fuel while people adapt to living in the dark.
Only six per cent of Malawi's population has access to electricity while the rest depend on charcoal and paraffin for cooking and ligh…
- Malawi is remaining with only 32 retired soldiers who fought with guns and courage during the Second World War, out of the 300, 000 Malawians who took part in that dreaded affair.
Malawi Defence Force records indicate that the remaining soldiers stay at Cobbe Baracks in Zomba, Moyale in Mzuzu, and in Malawi's capital city, Lilongwe. They fought a hard, long war, and that should make them proud. Yet, they lack the basic necessities at the places they currently stay in, and are in constant need of more resources from a society that takes confort in forgetting the sacrifices these great men made.
One of the remaining soldiers, Swedi Holario, said the was happy to have contributed towards a …
- Women gather at Zomba Central Hospital in Southern Malawi in hundreds. It is not a social gathering, though one condition renders them peers and leaves them united.
Welcome to the Sexual Reproductive Health Ward at the referral public health institution for people from Zomba, Machinga, Mangochi, Balaka and Thyolo districts; common here, among these sad but hopeful women, is a condition termed 'Fistula'.
Fistula is a condition that arises in women who may have delayed to go to the hospital when time for labour approached, or those who delivered children when they thought they were strong mentally, but their bodies were too tender for such an orduous task.
Their condition makes them one b…
- Malawi is facing a race against time to cure 12, 000 patients made blind from preventable illnesses.
Ministry of Health officials acknowledge the country was grappling with an artificial blindness problem, but say efforts were being made to reverse the situation.
Joseph Msosa, Chief Eye Specialist in the Ministry of Health, said the common form of blindness was that coming as a result of cataract, a health condition that, if untreated, leads into total blindness. It can, however, be reversed through eye surgery.
“We currently have 20, 000 people who are blind as a result of this condition, of which we have only been able to operate on 8, 000. We don’t have the necessary fina…
Religious leaders have softened up their decision against general condom use in Malawi. Government officials see it as positive news in the fight against HIV/AID. Media reports say condom use in the southern African country remains below the levels needed to halt the spread of the disease. - Malawi is one of the Southern African Development Community member states with a high HIV prevalence rate, though government efforts have helped stabilize the situation to 12 per cent national prevalence rate.
National AIDS Commission Executive Director, Biziwick Mwale, said the trend was worrisome because HIV/AIDS service organizations were doing a commendable job in sensitising communities. "The mos…
The arrested primary school dropout who established a community radio station using two used transistors in the Mulanje district has been freed. His release followed efforts from community members who listened to the 21-year-old Gabriel Kondesi's ingenuity. - The villagers raised K14, 000 ($100) to free the boy while his father sold part of his property to prevent the boy from spending time in jail. “I think people got so much used to my radio because I started broadcasting some three years ago,” said Kondesi.
He was surrounded by proud villagers upon his release.
Meanwhile, Zodiac Broadcasting Station’s (ZBS) Managing Director, Gospel Kazako, travelled all the way fr…
- A 21 year old, Standard (Grade) One school drop out, Gabriel Kondesi, has been operating a community radio station using a set of three small transistor radios to penetrate the airwaves.
He has been operating the radio station from the Southern Malawi district of Mulanje at the frequency of 98.5 FM.
However, the boy has been sent to jail for his sins because the radio station was not registered by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra), the body responsible for allocating frequencies in Malawi.
Mulanje Second Grade Magistrate, Aristotle Lameck Mkwapatira last Friday slapped Kondesi with a K50,000 (200 Euros) fine, in default, 10 months Imprisonment with Hard Labour for t…
- President Bingu wa Mutharika has bemoaned the level of accountability in sports, saying officials hardly accounted for resources channeled to them.
Mutharika, responding to concerns over poor funding to sports associations, said his government was committed to promoting sports in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state, but only after assurances all resources would be accounted for.
“At the moment, I think investing in sports is tantamount to investing in a bottomless pit or basin. Officials seem to think that state funding is a gift that should not be accounted for and, as a result, we find that some of the things earmarked for funding are not done,” s…
- Malawi has managed to beat prophets of doom who predicted dwindling fortunes for netball, thanks to good player-succession plans.
Just some two years ago, many feared that netball was on its death bed as many of Malawi’s top notch netball players near retirement.
The instrumental Mary Waya, probably the world’s fattest netball player, has a reputation running across the continents. Captain Peace Chawinga-Kalua, too, has had an industrious career spanning over two decades.
The two have been the heart beat of the Malawi National Netball team but now faces prospects of retirement as age catches up with them.
The print media has been awash with debate over whether the old guar…
- Malawi has started preparations for Angola 2010, following Guinea’s 2-1 loss to Burkina Faso on Sunday.
The loss gives Malawi a life line in a group where Ivory Coast have already qualified for the World Cup to be held next year in South Africa, followed by Burkina Faso with nine points. Malawi has four points while Guinea remain stuck at three points, their campaign now facing the black clouds because they will have to play their last match against Ivory Coast away from home.
Malawi go to Burkina Faso on November 10, and are confident that they will qualify.
“We have already started preparing for Angola 2010. There is no way Ivory Coast can loose at home. We are cock sure o…
- Malawi has stumped its foot down against signing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) being engineered by the European Union, describing them as a perpetuation of the EU’s divide-and-rule tactics.
Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika vowed on Wednesday the country “will not sign the EPAs, even if it means being the only African country that will not sign”, because the new instrument stood to make Africa worse than it is now.
“These are the tactics of the West; these countries have never supported African solidarity and are reverting to their old tactics of divide and rule. These people were not happy with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) agreement and now …
- At least 80 per cent of Malawian women suffer from various forms of gender-based violence at the hands of men, a development described as 'catastrophic' by Gender and Community Development Minister Patricia Kaliati.
Kaliati said it was worrying that this abuse, often perpetuated against adults, was now spilling over to children as young as 12, rasing fears the number of children facing trauma would reach unmanageable levels should there be no mitigating factors.
"It is sad that 80 per cent of women in this country face various forms of abuse. How can they face the world with hope, and contribute towards national development?" said Kaliati.
The minister expressed anger over the recent de…
Malawi has intensified the search for gold and diamond in a latest bid to prop up its agro-based economy. The country depends largely on agriculture, which contributes over 60 per cent to the national economy. - But tobacco, its highest foreign exchange earner faces an uncertain future in the face of a global onslaught against the health hazards associated with smoking.
Price instability for other strategic crops such as cotton, tea and maize have also meant diminished returns for impoverished farmers, prompting government to experiment with new viable forms of economic spinning.
Leonard Kalindekafe, Director for the country’s Geological Surveys Department, said mineral explorati…
- The European Union Micro-projects programme has donated two hospital wards to Chonde Health Centre in Mulanje district.
Mulanje, a district in Southern Malawi, is one of the country’s highly populated areas. However, access to medical facilities remains one of the biggest challenges as infrastructural inadequacies and a lope-sized doctor-to-patient ratio conspire to make life too expensive for community members, most of whom live below US$1 a day.
Isaac Munro, National Coordinator for EU Micro-projects Programme, asked community members to take good care of the infrastructure.
He said vandalism of donated property discouraged other well-wishers, a development that meant increased …
