Malawi clerics urge ex-ruler Muluzi withdraw from poll

Former Malawi President Bakili Muluzi should withdraw from next year's presidential election in the interests of democracy, an influential group of Christian and Muslim clerics in the African nation said on Monday.

Muluzi, who stepped down in 2004 after unsuccessfully trying to change the constitution and run for a third consecutive term, announced last year he would challenge incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika on behalf of the United Democratic Front party.

"Muluzi had his time and we ask him to withdraw his intentions to contest again in next year's elections," Rev. Boniface Tamani, head of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) clerical lobby, said in a statement.

"His intentions may undermine the achievements that the country has made so far and destroy the confidence with the country's donors," Tamani said.

Clerics have played an important political role in Malawi. Calls by Christian leaders for the government to respect democracy and human rights helped pave the way for the 1994 departure of longtime strongman Hastings Kamuzu Banda.

But Kennedy Makwangwala, the UDF's secretary-general, dismissed the clerics' request. "UDF supporters are the ones that want Muluzi and not the churches," he told Reuters.

Muluzi was hailed as a hero in Malawi, one of the world's poorest nations, for ousting Banda, a victory that appeared to mark the end of authoritarian rule in the country of 13 million people.

But a decade later he was defeated in an unsuccessful bid for an unconstitutional third, five-year term amid growing tensions with Western donors who account for a large chunk of the country's finances.

Relations between Muluzi and wa Mutharika, his successor, have deteriorated since the incumbent launched an anti-corruption drive that netted a number of Muluzi's allies. Muluzi was briefly arrested in 2006 in the crackdown.

It is not clear whether the former Malawi leader will be free to run again under the Constitution, which limits the president to two terms but says nothing about whether the restriction applies to former rulers.

Malawi's Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the matter. Muluzi and his supporters in the UDF have said they believe that the constitutional limit applies to consecutive presidential terms.

Wa Mutharika, who quit the UDF after winning the 2004 poll and formed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is likely to stress his government's economic achievements in his re-election bid. Inflation and interest rates have fallen and harvests have been generally good under his rule.

Muluzi says prosperity has not trickled down to many Malawians.

UDF loyalists in parliament have made several attempts to impeach wa Mutharika, while police have accused UDF figures of plotting to have the president assassinated. The DPP has a minority of the seats in Malawi's parliament.

Driver jailed for killing political activists

Blantyre - A drunk truck driver who killed 28 political activists when he rolled his vehicle in central Malawi has been handed a three-year prison sentence, police said on Monday.

Shadreck Phiri had pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at a hearing over the weekend at a court in the province of Dedza, police spokesperson Franklin Gausi said.

The court was told Phiri had been drinking heavily before the crash October 2007 when he lost control of the truck at high speed on a busy highway.

The 28-year-old Phiri had been driving 62 members of the small Alliance for Democracy political party to a convention in the capital Lilongwe when the accident happened. Many of the other passengers suffered severe injuries.

Ontario resident Kristie Antonitto traveled to five countries in Africa for a Rotary

Service established to fill a need in emergency response times
Anybody for mice on a stick? The little rodents are a protein source on the African Food Pyramid

Kristie Antonitto, a photojournalist for WHAM Channel 13, recently detailed her Rotary-sponsored Group Study Exchange trip to 5 countries in Africa . Kristie, who is currently a full time student at RIT studying for a second career as a nutritionist, also works for Highland Hospital as a Diet Office assistant. Kristie was chosen with four other professionals for the fully funded 30 day trip to Africa to exchange cultural, professional and vocational styles with their African counterparts.

During her speech and slideshow, Kristie has highlights of her visits to charity organizations, hospitals, World Food Program, and homes. She noted that Malawi is the 3rd poorest country in the World.

Housing was provided by Rotarians in the countries the team visited: Zambia , Malawi , Zimbabwe , Mozambique and South Africa . Of the mostly white families with which she stayed, many were of Indian descent, and ran the gamut of middle class to well-to-do industrialists and other professionals. Although their accommodations were often very nice and included pools and large homes, the residents still dealt with such problems as electrical outages and brownouts, as well as water shortages.

She recalled one home, where her “shower” consisted of a basin, which she knelt in and poured a bucket of water over herself. Mosquito netting on beds, and insect repellent were standards for the trip.

The saddest days were her visits to a home for blind and disabled adults and children, and the many orphanages for children who had lost their parents to AIDS. She found the numbers astonishing. The World Food Program helps to supply lunch for school children and several other organizations, such as the Scottish International Program's St. Mary's Meals help to put a dent in the overwhelming malnutrition issues. “In 44 schools in Malawi over 100,000 children a day are fed by such programs,” said Kristie. Nutrition rehabilitation includes such food staples as sheema, a porridge like mealie meal (finely ground corn) cooked in boiling water and eaten with the fingers.

During her trip, Kristie Antonitto presented a soccer ball signed by the Rochester Rhinos to a Rotarian from Africa .

“Protein is not often a part of the native's diets,” acknowledged Kristie. “In looking at Africa's Food Pyramid, to compare it with ours ( U.S. ), I found that mice are included under protein.”

Although farming could be taught to the Africans to alleviate some of the lack of protein-rich foods, tobacco is largely grown as an export product. Tobacco farming, construction, and copper mining in Zambia , are the largest industries in Africa . There does not appear to be a tourism market.

“In South Africa , I noticed that the most common beverages were Coke and Fanta. It made me mad, because there is no dental care and many people are toothless.”

Besides the rampant spread of AIDS all over Africa , poaching of the wild animals is a another major problem. “One of our team works at the Seneca Park Zoo, and filmed two white rhinos in Malawi , which we later learned were poached the next day and left dead with their horns taken for profit,” Kristie explained sadly. “We found that if we wanted to see any wild animals, we had to go on Safari. The wild animals have been so overhunted that they are almost non existent.”

With all the negativism and sadness of parts of the trip, Kristie and her team found wonderful, friendly villagers, hospital personnel, happy children playing soccer, and much industry. She met a man in Malawi who ran a Crocodile farm, which she was thrilled to observe.

Kristie was asked if she ever felt afraid during her African trip. “No,” she admitted, “I just felt that Rotary would never put me in harm's way. I felt very protected.”

Fairport Rotarian Jeannie Wells led the Group Study Exchange team to Africa . Jean is a nurse. Her team included: Kristie; TC Pellett from the Greater Rochester Visitor's Association; Sarah Meyer an Outreach Coordinator for the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith College; Laurie McFadden who is the Alfred University Library/Archivist, and Joe Roman, a 6th grade Science, Social Studies and Reading Lab teacher at Wheatland Chili Schools. A GSE Exchange team from the five countries visited by this group, came to our area in early 2007 on the same type of business and cultural exchange.