Ngoma defends white, Kabwila’s summoning

Presidential Safe Motherhood Programme executive director Dorothy Ngoma has defended the action taken by some of her colleagues from government and the People’s Party (PP) to summon two women’s rights activists over alleged remarks against Malawi President Joyce Banda.

Two human rights defenders, Seodi White and Jessie Kabwila, are said to have been summoned to a parallel session during the Malawi National Gender Conference in Mangochi last week on accusation that they were using the gathering to campaign against the President.

The duo allegedly stated that Banda should not be voted for simply because she is a woman.

White is the executive director of the Women and Law in Southern Africa while Kabwila is a lecturer at Chancellor College of the University of Malawi and was one of those who fought for the academic freedom in 2011.

Ngoma’s position comes following a statement from the two explaining and condemning their summoning and grilling, saying they take great exception to the summoning of human rights defenders and citizens to ‘kangaroo courts’ and that the action is an affront to the country’s democracy.

The two mentioned Ngoma, presidential adviser on Women Affairs and PP director of women Clara Makungwa, chairperson of the Joyce Banda Foundation Rosemary Nhlema, Nkhata Bay South member of Parliament and PP member Etta Banda, and head of Presidential Initiative on Hunger Flora Kaluwire as those behind their summoning.

White and Kabwila are said to have been summoned following a confrontation with one of the contributors and a member of the organising team of the conference, Mphatso Jumbe, who called on women to vote for Banda because she is a woman regardless of how the electorate view her policies.

Makungwa and the other three could not be immediately reached for comment on the statement, but in an interview, Ngoma admitted that she was among the five mentioned.

She said their main drive to call the two was to protect Jumbe who, she said, was being abused by the two.

Said Ngoma: “It was mainly because of the reaction that this girl got. We were watching from afar, but you could tell the abuse that was there and the words used both directly at the girl and the President.”

However, Ngoma refused to react directly to the issues raised in the duo’s statement, saying it is only the one who was being abused who is competent enough to comment since she knows the extent of the abuse and the pain that she felt.

Ngoma also said the reaction from the two towards the President and the language used showed that the two have some personal issues against President Banda.

She said: “My take is that the two of them have got an issue or issues against the President of which I really don’t know. I was there listening and the tone of the language was not really good.”

Ngoma said the two even said they pay taxes which pay the President’s salary; hence, they have the right to attack her.

According to White and Kabwila, the parallel meeting was also attended by Chancellor College associate professor Garton Kamchedzera, Alice Shackleford, a United Nations (UN) Women Resident Representative, a representative of the Ministry of Gender Peter Msefula, chair of the Malawi Human Rights Commission Sophie Kalinde, the executive director of the Malawi Human Rights Commission Grace Malera and Bridget Chibwana, a consultant for UN Women.

In their statement, White and Kabwila explained that they decided to engage Jumbe to clarify her comments when she said that in efforts to ensure retention of women politicians and fulfil women’s agenda, women could consider to vote for the President because she is a woman regardless of her policies.

Reads the statement by White and Kabwila: “We stated that, the fulfilment of the gender agenda does not mean womanhood is an automatic ticket for votes by women.”

White and Kabwila said during the debate that ensued, they emphasised that gender and woman should not be reduced to “Joyce Banda and elite women, but always be read and understood to the benefit of rural illiterate, who are majority of women’s population.”

Ironically, White and Kabwila were part of the organising team of the conference which was held under the theme Celebrating Malawi’s Quest for Gender Equality: Telling Our Own Story, Redefining and Taking Stock.

The conference attracted at least 129 participants comprising 87 women.