Prophet David Mbewe condemns discrimination against Rastafarians
President of the Freedom of Worship Association of Malawi (FOWAM) Prophet David Mbewe has condemned discrimination perpetrated against people of the Rastafarian faith, stressing that this is against freedoms of worship and association.
Mbewe made the remarks at Ngabu Bhinghi Ground in Chikwawa where thousands of Rastafarians gathered on Tuesday to celebrate the 58th anniversary of Black Liberation Day.
Black Liberation Day, also known as African Liberation Day, falls on May 25 every year.
On this day, many African countries celebrate the hard-fought achievement of their freedom from European colonial powers.
Many African communities play an active role in organizing events for African Liberation Day.
The main activities to celebrate the day in Malawi took place at Ngabu Bhinghi Ground in Chikwawa where Prophet Mbewe was guest of honour.
Mbewe deplored the tendency by some Malawians to perceive Rastafarians as troublemakers.
“Rastafarians are peace-makers. You rarely hear of Rastafarians being the source of trouble in the society. Hence, I would like to call upon Malawians to embrace and respect Rastafarians just like we do with Christians and Muslims,” he said.
“Let me also take opportunity of this celebration to ask the government to accord and preserve the freedoms and rights of Rastafarians in the country. They are a human capital the Malawi Government can utilize to develop its social and economic strata,” he added.
To ice the celebration, Prophet Mbewe donated various food and non-food items to the Rastafarian Community in Malawi.
He said just like he donated to Muslims on Eid-ul-Fitr two weeks ago, he felt the need to contribute to this celebration of the Black Liberation Day.
“So, I am very happy to have participated in this celebration,” he said.
Ras Geof Phomeya said Black Liberation Day is of great social and spiritual importance in their faith.
“This is the great day for us as RASTAs and not for only us, Rastas, but the African people as we come together to celebrate freedom from oppression,” he said, adding that the day used to be celebrated in a few countries for five years until the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established.
Similar activities took place in Nkhata Bay, Area 25 Bhinghi House in Lilongwe and Malembo in Mangochi.
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