INSULTING JOYCE BANDA IS UTTER FOOLISHNESS

I write this post while thinking about a friend of mine, Justice Mponda, who is somewhere in Lilongwe under police custody. 

I have known Justice for quite some time and his personal conduct has always been impressive. He is charming and knows how to reach out to anyone.

For sure, I also liked his passion for writing fashion stories (a thing that has earned him many female admirers over the years)

Today I stand helpless to figure out why Justice, with his bright career would fall into the pangs of some selfish politicians so as to fabricate stories that have so many implications in them.

Just for a start, I for one do not hold enough respect for Malawi Voice (an online publication that has landed Justice in hot soup)

Sometime back on a day that KFC (Malawi’s newest up-market eatery) opened, I was somewhere in Blantyre Central Business District. The day was normal by all standards and the opening ceremony did not eat into people’s attention. 

It therefore took me by surprise the following day to read on Malawi Voice that President Joyce Banda was the guest of honor during the KFC function.

The report, which mentioned KFC as Kantata Fried Chicken instead of Kentucky Fried Chicken,  went on to attack the State President that she attends trivial events at the expense of national issues.

At the said time, President Joyce Banda was attending to some business somewhere in Chiradzulu and it was one of his ministers, John Bande who attended the function.

Why on earth would someone fabricate such a story without displaying a trait of shame?

Now I wonder why several institutions including the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) are making noise about this. Have they really taken a moment to cross check the facts (or let's call them lies) being propagated by Malawi Voice?

MISA Chief, Anthony Kasunda believes that if anyone is aggrieved by the conduct of any journalist they should first seek redress or clarification from them before taking action.

I beg to differ, journalists are citizens first before they are career people and anything they do against the laws of the land should be dealt with in uniformity with all other citizens. 

I will not drag myself into politics at this stage but I strongly believe that any kind of authority must be respected, no matter what.

That is why I never dared hit back at my teacher in primary school when he caned me almost on weekly basis (Nothing about troublemaking here, the man just hated me).

Even if one is not patriotic enough, there is no need to drag the name of the Head of State to such contempt.

Let Joyce Banda rule. If she fails then let us judge her for that; not fabricating stories to tarnish her image through artificial means. 

I for one would love to see Joyce Banda succeed as President, a stand I would take for any serving President.     

This is why I am not moved when people like Professor Chijere Chirwa call our President “unsophisticated”. I just want her to be a leader not somebody sophisticated.

Even when Kapito raises his 10 point plan, not even a single hair on my head would move. To me Kapito’s noise is sometimes misplaced and too personalized for my liking.

A piece of advice to fellow Malawians; if you don’t like any sitting president, just wait for the ballot to cement your stand. 

Insulting our President for cheap propaganda is not a good thing at all.

We can do better in helping JB rule this country. She deserves respect.