By: Happy Arnold Soko
Remarks by country’s vice president Saulos Chilima that people who have little or no knowledge about legal, economic and social issues are idiots and should refrain from commenting on national issues have not gone well among Malawians.
Chilima made the remarks on Friday in Mangochi during the Malawi Law Society annual general meeting (AGM) The vice president said that it would be respectful to call such people not just ‘some characters’ but “idiots.”
Reacting to these remarks Ken Msonda differed with Chilima citing that Malawians are not idiots but peace loving, meek and humble.
He said, “No ways; I tend to differ; Malawians are peace loving, meek and humble. Meekness and humility are not the traits that are born out of “stupidity or idiocy” but are the results of strength and power under control.”
In an interview with The Malawi Star, Msonda who is also People’s Party (PP) publicity secretary said it is shocking for the country’s second president to utter such insulting remarks.
According to Chilima, sometimes the nation watches and waits for things to go wrong because people that have no knowledge about the subject are frequently given the platform to speak.
Msonda added that Malawians are disappointed with the remarks by second citizen.
“I don’t believe our second citizen can say that. If indeed he called Malawians ‘idiots’, then it was a bad-slip of a tongue. That was and continues to be not just unfortunate but undemocratic line of thinking as well as uncalled for.
“Our state VP is a very educated, intelligent and focused person, those who wrote that speech for him had bad intentions to dent his integrity and political career. The state VP needs to retract that statement and apologize to the nation. Malawians are not “idiots” and as such “they should not be taken for granted.” Explained Msonda.
In a random interview with this publication local Malawians have expressed their shock with the remarks.
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