MALAWI: Extreme Heatwave & more – 29th Oct 2024

Muli bwanji from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 29th of October twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Kicking things off, The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services said the Southern parts of the country would experience a heatwave from Friday the 25th until Wednesday the 30th.

The report was true, as there was very hot and uncomfortable weather, with temperatures exceeding forty-three degrees Celsius or 109 Fahrenheit in areas like Ngabu and others located along the Shire Valley. There were thirty-nine degrees Celsius or 102 Fahrenheit in the highlands, such as Blantyre city

Even though their report said the South would be the hardest hit, other regions experienced extremely high temperatures too.

More about the weather, as on Monday the 28th, the Meteorological Services warned of heavy rains and potentially damaging winds in most parts of the country, but especially in the Northern and Central regions.

On Monday, a local media house said that several houses in Kasungu district in the north had collapsed following a wave of heavy rains and winds that afternoon.

Isaac Mkandawire, the Head of the Kasungu Municipality, told local media that one child had died from a lightning strike and that another was in hospital after a house collapsed on him. He believes that more people were harmed and have possibly died, but said he could not confirm until they had carried out their investigations.

In other news, it has been three weeks since fuel became scarce. On Wednesday the 23rd, President Chakwera gave the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (or MERA) a directive to fix the situation, but it didn’t change much.

Happy Jere, the Chairperson of the Petroleum Retailers Association of Malawi, blamed fuel suppliers for only delivering fuel to major cities – namely Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu – and leaving out gas stations in towns and districts.

The scarcity has also affected commuters, who are now paying double or triple the amount of their public transport fares as transport providers are trying to cover the costs of fuel that they buy from the black market. A liter of petrol on the parallel market sells at a minimum of six thousand Kwacha, which is a bit over three dollars, as opposed to the legal cost of 2,550 Kwacha, which is around a dollar and fifty cents.

Petroleum retailers like TotalEnergies told local media that they are only receiving thirty percent of the required fuel amounts, causing a hand-to-mouth situation for fuel.

Since we mentioned Chakwera, he inaugurated the Poppy Appeal Week on Monday the 28th in the capital, Lilongwe. The Poppy Appeal Week was established globally in nineteen eighteen following the end of World War I, and is commemorated to remember those who died in the war. During the inauguration, President Chakwera said Malawi will commemorate World Poppy Day on the 10th of November. He also asked people to be mindful of local, ex-military soldiers who made it back home.

Retired General Henry Odillo, the Chairperson of the Veterans and Ex-Service League of Malawi, said they want to raise 200 million Kwacha, which is 115 thousand dollars, during the week, to maintain war memorial homes.

On another note, Patricia Kaliati, the Party Secretary General for the United Transformation Movement, was arrested on Thursday the 24th. The police kept her in jail and only took her to court and revealed her charge on Monday the 28th.

Roderick Michongwe, the Principal Resident Magistrate, said that Kaliati, Joseph Odala and Frank Chinedu allegedly conspired to assassinate President Chakwera between March and June this year. He said the government would come up with a final charge sheet, on which Kaliati would be expected to take a plea.

Local news said that, during the proceedings, Levison Mangani, the State Prosecutor, asked the court to extend Kaliati’s stay in custody by seven days, because they feared her release would jeopardize their investigations as Kaliati might tamper with witnesses. However, the State Magistrate dismissed the application and granted Kaliati bail instead.

Meanwhile, some organizations have complained to the African Union (or AU).

Inua Advocacy, which advocates for refugee rights in Malawi and beyond, wrote a letter reporting Malawi to the AU over alleged human rights violations in the country.

The organization made an urgent appeal to the AU to intervene in abuses such as Malawi's relocation of refugees from urban and rural areas to Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa, which the government ordered last March. They also complained about alleged human rights violations against refugees, asylum seekers, and human rights defenders in the country.

In its letter, Inua asked the AU to lead an independent fact-finding mission to verify these abuses in Malawi, focusing on outstanding violations, sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, and continued attacks on refugees’ right to civic space.

The AU has also received another complaint from six local human rights civil society organizations who believe that the high cost of living in Malawi is a human rights abuse as it undermines people’s right to an adequate standard of living.

Michael Kaiyatsa, the Executive Director of CHRR, presented a statement to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in Gambia last Thursday the 24th, during the Commission’s 81st session.

In some sad news, on Monday the 28th, Associate Professor Ngeyi Kanyongolo, the Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi, died at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre after being sick for about two weeks.

Kanyongolo was quite popular among legal and academic circles. Before her inauguration as Vice Chancellor at the Catholic University, she served as the Dean of the Law Faculty at the University of Malawi, and as a Board Chairperson at the telecommunications company Airtel.

Several distinguished bodies have since shared their shock at her untimely death.

Going back to transport for a bit, Imperial Motors, a local car manufacturer, launched three new vehicles on Thursday the 24th. This includes the GWM ORA, which is its first fully electric model.

Theodore Katandula, the General Manager, said their new cars are designed with the future in mind and with solutions to current problems like fuel shortages.

Next up, PP Tyres and Spares and Standard Solutions are no longer allowed to participate in public procurement and disposal processes. A statement by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (or PPDA) released on Monday the 28th said they banned the two suppliers because they submitted fraudulent tax clearances. The ban became effective on Sunday the 20th.

According to the PPDA, PP Tyres has been barred for one year, and Standard Solutions for three.

In entertainment news, the Tumaini Festival is just around the corner. It will be celebrating its tenth anniversary from Thursday the 31st to Friday the 1st at the Dzaleka Refugee Camp.

During a press briefing on Thursday the 24th, Tammy Mbendera, the Festival Manager, revealed this year's lineup, which includes headlining musicians such as Hyphen, Lulu, and Crispy Malawi.

The Tumaini Festival is happening a few days after the Urban Music People Festival, which took place over the weekend at Cape Maclear in Mangochi. It made waves because it featured six stages and six venues which is a first in Malawi.

The festival made a splash for its variety. Apart from featuring international artists like Naimah from Zambia and The Ells from Namibia, it also included other activities such as tours, sporting competitions, and a beauty pageant.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Pitani bwino!