Unima students dressed down Dausi, warned Mutharika of false advisors

i wrote this story for Nyasa Times... so read it in that context...

As Nyasa Times gathers more details of Saturday’s roundtable meeting between government and University of Malawi students, it has emerged that the students cautioned Mutharika to be wary of false advice from people looking for personal gains.

An inside source who opted for anonymity said the students were referring to Nicholas Dausi who was using the meeting to earn marks in Mutharika’s presence.

“Dausi picked on Lonjezo Sithole [Chanco Students union leader], accusing him of escorting Undule Mwakasungula to the UN to deliver ‘false’ complaints and allegations against Mutharika’s government,” said the source.

The outspoken Lonjezo Sithole protested, citing that he doesn’t even have a passport. The dressing down then begun, led by Polytechnic’s revolutionary Vice President, Victor Mandiwe who told Dausi that he was raising an issue that was irrelevant to the meeting.

The much Phlegmatic Evance Morra, then braved the numerical disadvantage the students were in to tell Mutharika that some people were ill-advising him for personal gains. Morra also suggested the colleges be opened in July to allow for non-residential students to secure accommodation and for the rest of the students to get into school mood.

“Dausi never spoke for the rest of the meeting and when we were leaving we overheard Peter Mutharika [Minister of Education] telling Dausi that he had goofed,” said our source.

The highly charged meeting saw Unima lecturers boycotting it for not being formally invited and saw tempers flaring with the student leaders being called names. The meeting resolved that Mutharika would soon issue a statement to address the issue of Academic freedom.

According to a statement monitored on the state-controlled broadcaster, MBC, Mutharika has assured the lectures of Academic freedom and has directed that the colleges of Chanco and Poly be opened on the 4^th of July.

Meanwhile unofficial reports indicate that lecturers are ready to resume teaching and the only questions being raised by students are those of stationery allowance and how the academic calendar will shape out.

Bingu to issue statement on Unima impasse

President Bingu Wa Mutharika has said that he will ‘soon’ issue a statement where he will address the issues of academic freedom and the calendar crisis facing the University of Malawi’s sister colleges, Chancellor and Polytechnic.

Mutharika said this at a roundtable meeting at the state house in Lilongwe between him, Mukitho and University of Malawi student union leaders.

The Meeting which has just ended saw tempers rising and lecturers from Poly and Chanco boycotting it for not being formally invited.

An inside source told NyasaTimes that the meeting which started later than slated saw Bingu saying that he would address the Unima impasse once and for all.

“He [Bingu] said he will issue a statement soon to address the issues of academic freedom and calendar crisis, that was after the students defended the importance of Academic freedom and the need for universities to be opened soon.”

However Mutharika could not say how soon he would release the statement and after the students asked for a timeframe he reminded them of how he hates to be given ultimatums.

The source also said that Lonjezo Sithole was personally picked on and labelled “spokesperson of the lecturers,” a move that disturbed the young man’s peace for a while.

Earlier Pascow's chairman, Griffin Salima confirmed that Polytechnic lecturers were not attending because they did not get formal invites.

“I cannot speak for Chancellor College but as for Poly we didn’t go because we had no invitations and that means there are implications in going and not going [to attend the talks],” said Salima.

Asked how they let the meeting go ahead without the main stakeholders, the source said the students raised the issue but agreed to continue in the interest of students.

Meanwhile there is a surge of hope among students from Poly and Chanco that the universities will be opened soon. A snap survey of social media on the cyber sphere shows high levels of optimism with one event inviting students to be on campus by 1^st July.

“We are growing and if we delay more we will not be able to get back into school mood that apart from what an idle mind can do. People can get HIV during this unplanned and elongated holiday,” one student wrote.

There were 3 students from Chanco, 2 from Poly and the rest were government officials.