National chairperson for the Chiwanja cha Ayao, Abdul Azizi Yasin (left)
* Some politicians, in their desperation for power have used cultural groupings as vehicles while in the process dividing the nation along tribal lines
* Malawi of today is deeply divided along tribal lines than it was prior to 1994 and politicians are to blame for this state of affairs in the country
By Jamal Jamal
The cultural grouping of Chiwanja cha Ayao has condemned some politicians in the county who are using cultural groupings to advance their political interests at the expense of national unity.
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In an exclusive interview, national chairperson for the Chiwanja cha Ayao, Abdul Azizi Yasin said it was quite disheartening to note that instead of uniting Malawians together — irrespective of their tribal leanings — some politicians in their quest for power have been using cultural groupings to divide Malawians for political gains.
“Some politicians, in their desperation for power have used cultural groupings as vehicles while in the process dividing the nation along tribal lines,” he said.
“Malawi of today is deeply divided along tribal lines than it was prior to 1994 and politicians are to blame for this state of affairs in the country.”
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Yasin further said some politicians have even used the cultural groupings to promote their own tribes as being superior more than others.
“Some politicians have even used their influence to promote their own tribes and portray them as superior. They create an impression that some tribes are inferior therefore they deserve little or no attention at all.
“But this is wrong, and is a recipe for disaster. We have to avoid this kind of politics at all cost for the sake of national unity. There is no tribe or culture in Malawi which is above the other.
“Let’s strive for unity in diversity and politicians should lead the nation in fostering national unity,” he said, while pleading with politicians on both sides of the divide to let cultural groupings run on their own without political influence.
“Politicians should not ride on our backs in their quest for power. This approach is divisive and we totally condemn it in its entirety. We should be alone left to discharge our roles without any political influence.”
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He added that unless politicians start preaching about unity, it is going to be a “struggle for the country to excel in its development aspirations”.
“At Chiwanja cha Ayao, we strive to be very unique. We are a stand-alone cultural grouping without any political inclination and we are not in any way influenced politically by any political grouping. We solely exist to promote unity and progressive culture,” Yasin said.
During its recent cultural festival held in October, the cultural grouping brought together politicians from both sides of the political divide and other cultural leaders, a move which has been widely praised as a “step in the right direction” towards unifying the country.
Founded in 2011, Chiwanja cha Ayao has been in the forefront fighting against some cultural beliefs deemed detrimental to progressive development.
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