Citizen Alliance calls for youth engagement in preventing political violence ahead of 2025 General Elections

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Citizen Alliance (CA) – a non-profit, non-governmental organization with citizen engagement as its priority hence promoting proactive participation in Malawi – has stressed the need for the engagement of young people in fighting politically-driven violence.

Speaking during a dialogue meeting between civil society organizations and citizens at Mponela Trading Centre in Dowa on Tuesday, CA Executive Director Baxton Nkhoma also called upon political parties to strengthen Multi-Party Liaison Committees (MPLC) ahead of the next General Elections in September 2025.

“From the dialogue session, we have seen the need to revamp and strengthen the multi-party liaison committee here in Mponera so that they should actively discuss ways of coexisting from time to time,” said Nkhoma.

Citizen Alliance organized the meeting to create a platform where CSO and community leaders could engage and brainstorm on how they can work together to achieve coexistence and peaceful conflict resolution.

The meeting drew together representation from CSOs, citizen groups or associations, the police, religious and traditional leaders.

Dowa CSO Network Chairperson, George Kaunda, observed that politicians take advantage of the plight of the youth to engage them in violent acts and aggression against contenders.

But Kaunda warned that violence has serious repercussions in a society, including displacement and conflicts.

“Our youth should be civic educated on the evils of admitting to cause violence simply because they have different values and affiliations with others in the community,” he said.

During the meeting, participants brainstormed possible ways of ensuring that the area, which is a hot spot for political related violence, is violent free and that the community members coexist. 

In his remarks, Sheikh Siraji Alifu pleaded with the parties to be accountable for violent acts and discipline their youth swiftly to avoid further violent acts.

“If a party knows that it is directly responsible for any violent act, or indirectly responsible in that their youth have caused and ignited violence elsewhere, the political party has to be accountable, as we faith leaders do.  That is leadership,” he said.

Alifu emphasized the need for the perpetrators of violence to be held accountable for their actions if the vice is to be eliminated.