Chikulamayembe spits fire on fellow chiefs
As the countdown to the much anticipated mass demonstrations organised by the Public Affairs Committee (Pac) on December 13 continues, Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe of Rumphi has spat fire at fellow traditional leaders who are opposing the proposed electoral and local government reforms.
Speaking from his headquarters yesterday Chikulamayembe said the chiefs challenging Pac on its agenda of pushing for enactment of the reforms do not know their role in society and are bound to lose public trust.
He was speaking against a background of some traditional leaders who, led by Paramount Chiefs Kyungu, Ngolongoliwa and Lundu last week presented a petition to Parliament and Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) expressing their reservations on the matter.
Chikulamayembe noted that most local leaders continue to be used by political elites at the expense of their subjects they claim to be serving.
He observed that Pac has been creating a conducive political space in the country since the dawn of multiparty politics.
“I was not among the chiefs that were in Lilongwe, but remember this is a political issue at hand and as chiefs we ought to know where to draw the line when political matters arise. Know where you belong in course of the whole debate. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates this fact,” Chikulamayembe said.
Adding: “The first call for me as a traditional leader is to defend the interests of the people I lead. So those are the questions that those chiefs could be interested in answering.”
Also conspicuously missing in Lilongwe were Inkosi Ya Makosi M’mbelwa V of Mzimba and Gomani of Ntcheu.
Asked on whether he endorses the pending protests Chikulamayembe said Malawians deserve the freedom and platform to voice out concerns on matters of national importance.
“Pac has been using such approaches on several occasions to get people to speak on matters that concern the nation, and it is not strange that there is such an arrangement this time around,” he said.
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