{"id":6822,"date":"2021-09-29T19:56:34","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T19:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi"},"modified":"2021-09-29T21:01:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T21:01:55","slug":"cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi","title":{"rendered":"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Malawi<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday this week.<\/p>\n

Blair sneaked into Malawi for a scheduled private meeting with President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe. Officials initially told the local media that President Chakwera was not aware of the Blair\u2019s visit although they would hold a discussion at Kamuzu Palace.<\/p>\n

But CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa, who addressed journalists in Lilongwe this afternoon, suspected that, in the absence of prior announcements of Blair\u2019s visits, Malawians could easily conclude that the Tonse Alliance administration intends to hire the former British premier as Chief Advisor to Chakwera, a move, which was heavily criticized and protested against by Malawians citizens, describing it as neo-colonization.<\/p>\n

Namiwa further doubted if the discussion between Chakwera and Blair were not in the best interest of Malawian citizens. \u201cWe are challenging President Chakwera to come out in the open and tell Malawians the reasons why we need Tony Blair in Malawi as an advisor, when the voters gave him all the trust and power to govern for the next five years. We believe that Blair had ulterior motives when he visited the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Namiwa wondered why Malawi would opt to give Blair an advisory role when he has a bad record in Rwanda where he is a voluntary advisor to Paul Kagame.<\/p>\n

Apparently, there are massive reports of human rights violations in Rwanda, bordering on excessive use of force by the law enforcement agencies; unlawful and arbitrary detentions; internet restrictions by the State; lack of freedom of expression; human rights activists and opposition political party leaders being silenced through arbitrary arrests and imprisonment based on trumped-up charges, among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs they say, show me your friends and I will tell you who you are, the friendship that exists between Kagame and Blair is a cause for worry for us to see our leader joining the league. CDEDI does not think that the former British PM has anything to offer to Malawi. On the other hand, CDEDI believes that Blair\u2019s closeness to the Republic of Rwanda, whose human rights record is not anywhere near a model, could offer anything positive to the Republic of Malawi in as far as tenets of good and genuine democracy are concerned,\u201d he narrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also important to point out that Blair was around during the Dr. Joyce Banda regime but there is literally nothing that Malawians benefited, hence CDEDI\u2019s caution to President Chakwera to tread carefully, since the SADC, the African region, and indeed the world, are watching! If truth be told, Malawi has the finest brains that are capable of turning around our fortunes without necessarily looking up to self-appointed good Samaritans, whose interests and motives are not clear,\u201d Namiwa stressed.<\/p>\n

When cashgate hit the capital hill, the Tony Blair Institute fled Malawi and \u201cdumped\u201d former President Joyce Banda like trash. State House Acting Presidential Secretary Anthony Kasunda said \u201cit is sad that once again CDEDI is making wild allegations that have no basis in fact and are far removed from reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kasunda said President Chakwera was informed of Mr Blair\u2019s private visit to Malawi and wider region. He has since met and held talks with the new President of Zambia.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs such, in keeping with established international protocols, the President invited Mr Blair to pay him a brief courtesy call, his schedule permitting, to allow the two to get personally acquainted for the first time, Kasunda elaborated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday this week. Blair sneaked into Malawi for a scheduled private meeting with President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera at the Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe. Officials initially told the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":6821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,25,8,10],"tags":[233,371,234,2625,312],"class_list":["post-6822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-featured","category-homepage-english","category-parties","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-malawi","tag-malawi","tag-the-centre-for-democracy-and-economic-development-initiatives","tag-tonse-alliance"],"yoast_head":"\nCDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-29T19:56:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-09-29T21:01:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"467\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-29T19:56:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-29T21:01:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi\"},\"wordCount\":612,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Malawi\",\"Malawi\",\"The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives\",\"Tonse Alliance\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Featured\",\"homepage-english\",\"parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi\",\"name\":\"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi - Malawi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-29T19:56:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-09-29T21:01:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg\",\"width\":720,\"height\":467,\"caption\":\"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/\",\"name\":\"Malawi\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi - Malawi","description":"The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi","og_description":"The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi","og_site_name":"Malawi","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2021-09-29T19:56:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-09-29T21:01:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":720,"height":467,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi","datePublished":"2021-09-29T19:56:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-29T21:01:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi"},"wordCount":612,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Malawi","Malawi","The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives","Tonse Alliance"],"articleSection":["all news","Featured","homepage-english","parties"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi","name":"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi - Malawi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg","datePublished":"2021-09-29T19:56:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-09-29T21:01:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has raised suspicion on the secret visit by former ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/09\/img-6154d41577085.jpg","width":720,"height":467,"caption":"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/cdedi-raises-red-flag-on-tony-blairs-secret-visit-to-malawi#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CDEDI raises red flag on Tony Blair\u2019s secret visit to Malawi"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/","name":"Malawi","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}