Day: June 12, 2021

Malawi’s government said Saturday that it had received news of its diplomats’ alleged misconduct in South Africa with regret and that it would punish those involved when they returned home.

South Africa on Friday declared all Malawian diplomats persona non grata for abusing diplomatic privileges and gave them 72 hours to leave the country.

South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations said in a statement that the action followed an investigation that found the diplomats had been buying duty-free alcohol with cash and then reselling it to retailers.

A Malawi government spokesperson, Gospel Kazako, told local media Saturday that the government had already talked with some of its South Africa-based diplomats.

“What they are saying is that they are being accused of abusing the tax privileges that they had,” Kazako said. “You know, according to the Vienna Convention of 1961, diplomats have certain privileges, and one of the privileges is that of not paying tax in the hosting country on certain items and certain services. Alcohol is one of those items, so there was abuse, according to South African government.”

The South African Revenue Service said the scandal, which also involved diplomats from other countries including Rwanda, Burundi and Lesotho, had led to the estimated loss of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes every month. It has not yet been determined how long the illegal enterprise was operating.

Not ‘normal consumption’

John Chikago, Malawi’s former high commissioner to South Africa, told VOA the matter was strange and surprising.

“We buy with the diplomatic card, and you can’t just buy any amount, unless you have a party at your house or there is national day [celebration] for your country,” he said. “But if it is normal consumption, you should buy only one bottle or two bottles. But they were buying cartons. How? So, it appears there was a syndicate.”

Chikago said the issue could tarnish the image of Malawian diplomats in other embassies.

“That is the image we are giving to South Africa — that we are corrupt people, because embassies are the image of Malawi — so it must stop,” he said.

Sheriff Kaisi, a political science lecturer at Blantyre International University, dismissed fears that the incident would affect diplomatic relations between Malawi and South Africa. But he said the image of ordinary Malawians living in South Africa could be affected.

“We have quite a number of citizens living in South Africa,” he said. “They will be seen as people who are not trustworthy, people who cannot follow rules of the game.”

However, Malawi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday evening that the Malawi government had conveyed regret to the South African government about the conduct of the diplomats involved, and that it would take appropriate action when the diplomats returned to Malawi.

Source: Voice of America

Protesters hit Nigeria’s streets Saturday to say democracy is under threat from rising insecurity and bad governance.

The Democracy Day demonstrations came as President Muhammadu Buhari has been struggling to control terrorism, criminal abductions and separatist movements. Last week, Buhari suspended Twitter after it deleted a controversial tweet of his. Protesters blasted the act as a dictatorial punishment against free expression.

The protests started early Saturday across many Nigerian states, including Abuja, Lagos, Oyo, Ondo and Port Harcourt.

The protesters were holding placards marked #Buharimustgo and demanding an end to insecurity and what they called systemic oppression.

Tear gas, gunshots

Some protests in Abuja were dispersed by security agents who fired tear gas canisters and gunshots into the air, according to eyewitnesses.

Their banners and placards were also seized by state security operatives, said Cletus Uba, who was at Gudu junction, one of the protest venues.

“I was here when all these protesters were around, and I know what they’re agitating for, the insecurities in the country,” Uba said. “When they were here protesting, police, soldiers, civil defense started shooting tear gas and guns into the air.”

There was a heavy presence of armed security men and women all over the Abuja metropolitan region on Saturday, and the same was seen in many states across the country.

But 15 kilometers from Gudu — the spot in Abuja where protesters were dispersed — hundreds of government supporters gathered in a counteraction.

The inscription on their green-and-white vests read, “I stand with Buhari.”

President’s ‘great worry’

The president on Saturday morning addressed the nation through the government broadcaster and said he was fixing insecurity issues.

“Let me assure my fellow citizens that every incident, however minor, gives me great worry and concern, and I immediately order security agencies to swiftly but safely rescue victims and bring perpetrators to justice,” he said.

Buhari, a former military general, was elected in 2015 on a vow to root out security threats and grow the economy.

But his administration has been plagued by reckless attacks carried out by insurgents and bandits, as well as a booming kidnapping-for-ransom market. His cabinet has been severely criticized for not addressing those issues sooner.

Rising insecurity was not the only reason protesters were marching in the streets. They said last week’s Twitter ban was an attempt to gag free speech.

Ariyo Dare of the Nigeria Center for Liberty, one of the protesting groups, said, “The banning of the Twitter platform in Nigeria is undemocratic, irresponsible, thoughtless and very insensitive. Nigeria should be a leading light in terms of democracy in Africa.”

Nigerian authorities, who say social media has been used to promote comments that threaten the existence of the state, are now in talks with Chinese officials to create an internet firewall, according to Nigeria’s Foundation for Investigative Journalism.

But as the country marked Democracy Day, many protesters and critics said Buhari was Nigeria’s biggest threat to democracy.

Source: Voice of America