MALAWI: Karonga Central Youth for Non-violent Electoral Period
Youths who attended the meeting
Karonga Central Constituency well known for violence during campaign period. It is nicknamed Benghazi, after the infamous war-torn town in Libya, where “candidates,” and “supporters” own and control their own territories, making them no-go zones for their opponents.
However, with lots of interventions in the area and the whole district by the Justice and Peace Desk of the Diocese of Karonga, the youths in the area have realized that they are haunted by this negative identity.
This was revealed during the engagement meeting organized by the Justice and Peace Desk at Nyungwe in the district. The meeting which involved women and youth groups from Karonga Central and Nyungwe constituencies, aimed at calling on the youth to desist from being used by politicians to perpetrate violence during the campaign and elections period; and to encourage them to support female candidates.
Speaking at the meeting, Tawonga Mwakabanga of Lupembe Youth Club in Karonga Central says the youth are ready to reinstate the image of their constituencies by not accepting to be used by politicians for their personal gains.
“Time has come to restore our image. Frankly speaking, we are not happy with the name Benghazi” she said.
She has also pledged to support women candidates, come what may. Concurring with her, the District Youth Net Chairperson Elias Phiri says the youth now are more aware of the negative impact of ill behaviour during campaign, which he says discourages women from participating in politics fully.
On his part, the Project Officer for the Malawi Electoral Cycle Support (MECS) project said that it is his hope that Karonga as a district will have violence free campaign period and see more women voted into power for the betterment of the country.
Mwakisalu also reminded the participants on the danger of receiving some handouts from politicians during voting elections.
∽End∽
By Maureen Soko, Karonga Diocese
