Thyolo Thava MP Lifred Nawena (independent) on Thursday morning walked out of Parliament in protest over the treatment he received from Second Deputy Speaker Juliana Mphande following his statement which reflected on President Joyce Banda’s capabilities as a woman.
Nawena walked out after Mphande asked him to withdraw part of his supplementary question to Minister of Education Eunice Kazembe.
Nawena was unimpressed with Kazembe’s answer on construction of girls’ hostels in secondary schools.
Kazembe, in her answer, had said government would look into the matter.
“I am finding the answer a little frustrating. Now that we have a lady President, I would have loved to have a powerful answer considering that she champions girls’ matters,†he said, in his question, which also touched on construction of hostels in his constituency.
Before Kazembe could answer, Mphande raised concern over the reference to Banda as a female President.
But Nawena went on: “Can we have a straight answer on this issue of girls’ hostels, especially that we have a female heading the ministry and a female heading this country. We are expecting more than when we had a man heading the ministry and a man as the president.â€
“Honourable member, you are getting into rough waters to start making such comparisons. Why can’t you just ask without spicing it up with the gender aspect,†said Mphande.
Not to be outdone, Nawena stood up again and said: “I do not think the problem is with my question; the problem is with you the chair. This is a straightforward question without any ulterior motives. What is the problem with you, madam chair?â€
Nawena told the Speaker the minister should have complained if there was something wrong with the question.
Instead of asking the question again as told, a visibly angry Nawena decided to walk out, arguing he was misunderstood.
