Kaliati, Mwakasungula duel over Muluzi’s diplomatic hit

Malawi Government claims civil society has been put to shame if news coming from Zambia that former president Bakili Muluzi has managed to reconcile Lilongwe and Lusaka is anything to go by.

Malawi’s Minister of Information and Civic Education Patricia Kaliati said that if the message is true, then Muluzi did “the greatest thing no one, in particular civil society, has ever done.”

However, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) executive director Undule Mwakasungula on Monday laughed off the issue, arguing it is government that should be ashamed, and Kaliati in particular.

Said Mwakasungula: “I don’t know; they are the ones who should be ashamed. Why should they push the blame on civil society?

“This issue should not be politicised. As civil society we have been calling for good relationship between Malawi and neighbouring countries and other countries. So, it is not making sense to say civil society has been put to shame.”

He argued that it is more embarrassing that it took the former president, who government has been castigating on several occasions, to reconcile the two countries.

But Kaliati said NGOs failed to do “the unconfirmed Muluzi effort”, but instead went ahead to destroy Malawi’s image by giving false information to other countries.

“NGOs were a problem in 2011. They were reporting lies to other countries about the Government of Malawi and tarnished our image. They were [behaving] as if they were about to migrate to other countries but they are still here with us.

“If the news about Muluzi is true, then NGOs have been put to shame because none of them made an effort to do that,” claimed Kaliati.

She said government is yet to get official communication from Zambia on what Muluzi said in Lusaka and what the outcome was.

“I am getting calls from media houses in Zambia asking me to comment on what Muluzi did but as government we have not yet received any communication from Zambia. So, I am not ready to comment but if what we are hearing is true then he has done something great,” said Kaliati.