Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi’s State President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has called for unity of purpose among Kenyans and Malawians, stressing that this is critical in the two countries’ struggle for shared prosperity from shared opportunities.
Chakwera made the call at Wanguru Stadium in Kenya where he attended this year’s Mashujaa Day Celebrations. The Malawi leader is in Kenya on official duties and he is expected to sign a bilateral agreement with his Kenyan counterpart –Uhuru Kenyatta.
From Nairobi, Chakwera will fly to Dubai before going to Britain to conduct government business on behalf of the people of Malawi. Delivering his speech to Kenyans, Chakwera said the future he sees for the two nations is one of the “shared victories from shared struggles”.
“The future I see for our two nations is one of shared celebrations of shared heroes past, heroes present, and heroes future. It is we, Kenyans and Malawians, who must fight for that future. It is we, Kenyans and Malawians, who must pursue that future. So, let us create that future! Let us build that future! Let us give birth to that future! Let us become that future!” he narrated.
He said the struggle for independence in Kenya and Malawi is one of the things that binds Kenyans and Malawians together. Chakwera reminded Kenyans that the struggle for independence in Kenya and Malawi was led by patriots, who sacrificed their freedoms to safeguard the latter generation.
He emphasized that the struggle for independence in Kenya and Malawi was a fight against the same foreign oppressor and that the struggle for independence in Kenya and Malawi was a battle fought in the same decade.
“It is therefore no accident that after the founding father of Malawi became its Prime Minister in February 1963, the founding father of Kenya became its Prime Minister less than six months later. It is no accident that after Kenya gained her independence in December 1963, Malawi gained her independence less than seven months later. It is no accident that within less than five years of Kenya and Malawi gaining their independence, the founding father of Kenya hosted the founding father of Malawi here in Kenya in a joyous October like this one,” he said.
Chakwera stated that it is against this background that when his government was deciding which road in Malawi’s capital to upgrade to a multi-lane highway before any other, the obvious choice was the Kenyatta Drive that connects Malawi’s House of Parliament to Malawi’s largest hospital.
The President said it is not an accident that the city of Mzuzu in the north of Malawi, the city of Lilongwe in the center of Malawi, and the city of Blantyre in the south of Malawi, all have at least one road named Kenyatta.
“All this is because the founders of my nation wanted to make it clear for generations to come that those celebrated as heroes in Kenya’s struggle for independence are celebrated as heroes in Malawi. The bottom line is this. Whatever path you take to trace the history of independence in Kenya and Malawi, one fact is clear and indisputable: The struggle for independence in Kenya and Malawi did not just take place simultaneously. It also took place symbiotically,” he said.
“So, by celebrating this day together, we renew our brotherhood in the struggles we face and share. By celebrating this day together, we rekindle the flames of love and friendship between our peoples. By celebrating this day together, we reignite the solidarity our nations’ founders established between us. By celebrating this day together, we rejoice in the freedoms that light our path into the future,” narrated Chakwera.
