Africa-Press – Malawi. Social media influencer Onjezani Kenani has praised activist Sylvester Namiwa for his courage and determination in promoting good governance and holding public officials accountable.
In a post on Facebook on Saturday, Kenani recognized Namiwa as the second most outstanding personality of 2025 in the fight for accountability and transparency.
He lauded Namiwa’s relentless activism, describing him as “a man who has consistently stood up against injustice, even when faced with ridicule or life-threatening danger.”
Kenani highlighted Namiwa’s bold stand six to seven years ago, when he left his role at President Peter Mutharika’s State House to establish the Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI).
He said at the time, few believed the young activist could champion the rights of ordinary Malawians.
However, Kenani noted that over the years, Namiwa has engaged with government offices, challenged infractions, and raised public awareness on governance issues.
He pointed to Namiwa’s recent confrontation with Khato Civils over the Salima-Lilongwe Project as an example of his courage.
“When he recently confronted Khato Civils for the latter to explain to the public what, exactly, was going on in the Salima-Lilongwe Project, Namiwa was surrounded by a team of articulate experts, who denigrated his curiosity without appearing to denigrate him. Yet, even in that particular effort, he spoke for many who were in the dark about what was going on, and his courage shone through,” Kenani said.
The influencer noted that Namiwa’s bravery reached national attention in June 2025, when he led demonstrations in Lilongwe amid concerns over the integrity of national elections.
He added that despite threats from armed thugs reportedly trained by the ruling Malawi Congress Party, Namiwa faced violence in the streets while the police and army failed to intervene.
“The party (MCP), therefore, went so far as to train and arm scores of thugs with panga knives. As MCP got drunk on power, it unleashed those thugs with impunity, without any regard or fear of the law. That doomed day in June, the thugs came out for Namiwa in droves. Even as the army and the police watched, they hacked and flogged Namiwa to within an inch of his life,” he said.
The influencer went on to say like the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, which, in 2019 and 2020 led the demonstrations that brought MCP to power, Namiwa “could have chosen to sell his soul to the devil.”
However, he went out in the streets and led protests to amplify what was broken in the society.
Kenani further highlighted that Namiwa demonstrated utmost bravery and sent a message, not only to MCP but to anyone else who will come into power, that they can silence some of the people some of the time, but they can never silence all of the people all of the time.
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