DIOCESE OF KARONGA SENDS 15 TO MPEMBA FOR PARALEGAL TRAINING
By Noel Chatepa
The Catholic Diocese of Karonga has on 11th January 2025 embarked on a journey of enhancing legal awareness and access to justice in the Diocese by sending 15 individuals for paralegal training at the Malawi School of Government in Mpemba, Blantyre. The participants were selected from various Catholic groupings in the Parishes of the Diocese, including Scouts, Catechists, and CCJP volunteers.
The selected individuals will undergo a 16-week training program that will cover topics such as the rule of law, legal procedures, dispute resolution, human rights, and advocacy. The training is designed not only to equip them with legal knowledge but also to empower them to address pressing issues within their communities.
In an interview with Father Robert Songa, the Pastoral Secretary for the Diocese of Karonga, he emphasized the importance of fostering peace and justice within the community. “From the Pastoral point of view, we consider that a non-peaceful community that faces a lot of injustices that have to do with beliefs is difficult to evangelize,” he stated. He highlighted various issues plaguing the communities in the diocese such as witchcraft accusations, land disputes, and chieftaincy wrangles, problems that often escalate into violence and displacement.
“When these injustices happen in the community, we cannot have a living church in that community as those we are supposed to preach Christ to are displaced and are not at peace.”
Father Songa elaborated on the Diocese’s various approaches to combating these challenges, “the diocese has been addressing this crisis through various fronts, firstly by offering catecheses to our Christians on beliefs and on the negativity of perpetuating violence based on beliefs such as accusations of witchcraft and we also encourage our Christians to be the source of light in their communities. The other front is through the Bishop’s Peace Trophy which engages the youth through sports to address these conflicts.”
“The third front is the legal front of which we are now seeing the 15 who are going to be trained in basic law and be able to serve the poor people in the community who do not have access to legal services”. Father Songa explained that these trained individuals will offer free legal advice within their communities, helping residents navigate various legal challenges they may face daily.
Among those selected is Kate Kondowe, a 23-year-old Catholic scout from St. Francis De Sales Parish in Livingstonia (Rumphi District). She shared her enthusiasm towards the training, “I am very grateful for this opportunity; our community faces a lot of injustices. For instance, there was a recent land dispute where an individual sold land that did not belong to him, this has caused chaos in our community, and it has not yet been resolved. There are also instances where elderly people are accused of witchcraft, this training is important as it will enable us to tackle such issues”.
The Diocese will fully support these participants by covering tuition fees along with accommodation, meals, and transportation costs, a commitment made possible through funding from Aid to the Church in Need-Germany, an international Catholic charity organization.