By Vincent Gunde
A Malawian human rights activist based in South Africa Charles Ben Longwe, has asked government through the Ministry of Agriculture to release 40 tones of maize imported from Tanzania which it is holding at Jetty in Nkhatabay.
The Ministry of Agriculture is holding the commodity following a directive restricting importation of maize from Tanzania and Kenya over Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease.
The move by the Ministry is aimed at protecting the maize disease which has devastated the two countries from entering into Malawi.
Currently, the government has declared the maize it is holding from Tanzania as not good for consumption.
But speaking through an audio clip circulating in various social media platforms, Ben Longwe says the banned maize is being eaten as food in Tanzania and Kenya wondering in what way it will kill Malawians.
Longwe has asked government and the starving Malawians that which is better for the citizens to die of the claimed maize which has a disease or dying after taking wild roots and government must explain to its citizens of how many people have died in Tanzania after taking the maize.
He has again alleged that trucks belonging to Gotani-Hara, Richard Chimwendo Banda and Eisenhower Mkaka are being seen carrying the banned maize in Chitipa to unknown warehouses for sale sorely for government purposes.
The activist claims that the banning of maize imports from Tanzania has been made by one to three people in the Chakwera’s MCP led government for sale to benefit themselves not vendors to sale for their own benefit.
He also claims that in the Chakwera led government, there are ministers who are deliberately destroying the image of President Chakwera for him to be labelled a failure and they feel happy that Malawians are against their elected President.
“The maize withheld in Nkhatabay jetty could have saved many people in Nkhatabay from dying of hunger,” says Longwe.
He has however, appealed to President Chakwera to have his eyes wide awake that some ministers in his government are punishing the poor citizens in his name and if he continues watching this without taking action, Malawians will judge him through a ballot in the 2025 elections.
