You want to get naked? But we have children!
(There is pandemonium in the courtroom before the judge enters as people are chanting. Naked, naked! naked, I want to be naked! Naked, naked, naked! I want to be naked!! Ndivule kodi? Ayi musavule pali anthu!)
Court Clerk: Silence! Remember you are in a court of law and the honourable judge Mbadwa will enter this room soon. It will be regrettable to see some of you being sent out for contempt of court. We demand total silence for those who want to follow proceedings.
(As the judge enters) All rise! Honourable Mbadwa’s People’s Court is now in session. Observe court etiquette as you sit down.
Judge Mbadwa: I want to call executive director of Ear of the Kid Mark Matewera who petitioned this court to stop plans by Member of Parliament Waneck Kalindonda and his associates who plan to conduct a demonstration in their birth suits against the abductions and killings of people with albinism. This court wants to hear from you Mr Matewera; why don’t you want the Kalindonda group to exercise their right to protest an injustice being perpetrated on people with albinism?
Mark Matewera: My Lord, I applaud honourable Kalindonda for saying that enough is enough; hence, his call for a protest. We Ear of the Kid support every effort aimed at protecting the vulnerable such as people with albinism. Actually, it is the children with albinism that have been victimised a lot by killers and abductors. The children are easy targets because they cannot protect themselves.
Having said that, we believe the mode of protest that the Kalindonda group has chosen would end up traumatising most children; hence, its result would achieve a negative result, my Lord.
My Lord we are worried that this demonstration will be sending a wrong signal to the children and we don’t want to encourage a nude culture among them. We shouldn’t create a perception that the best way to get attention when they are looking for an answer is for them to strip naked and protest. We fail to understand how would adults’ exposure of their genitalia lead to the stopping of the killings? What’s the correlation?
My Lord we believe this issue is as serious as it can be and that the MP and his associates are powerful people who can move authorities to act on the matter through parliamentary structures. By the way, have the killings stopped since police officers joined in demonstrations against such acts?
Mbadwa: I have seen that Kalindonda is in this courtroom. Can you justify your X-rated demonstrations?
Kalindonda: My Lord, people like Matewera should not be allowed to operate because they are siding with killers. Maybe such groups are connected or benefitting from the killings and abductions of people with albinism. We are not going to stop. Mass action is what we need and when we expose our hidden materials to the public, people will see that this matter is a serious one. Let us all go naked, including you my Lord.
Mbadwa: I heard from both Matewera and Kalindonda. I agree government is not doing enough to arrest abductions and killings of people with albinism which is why individuals and groups should be commended when they decide to act. But this court will look at the general good that can come from a particular action. I wouldn’t want children to be subjected to indecent exposure by adults be in form of protest or otherwise I know everyone one has a right to freedom of expression but the exercise of that right should not be in conflict with respect of rights of others and protection of public morals. You know it is unlawful for a person to make an obscene or indecent exposure of his or her genitalia in public. Can a demonstration proceed when there is that legal challenge? Let the Kalindonda group first satisfy this court with reasons why they should break the law to demonstrate against an act through illegal means. Matter dismissed
