…as house ‘suitable for Asians’ advertised in Blantyre
Mpingwe Sports Club in Blantyre has been accused of turning away a black woman because of her race.
The woman identified as Daisy Chasweka said in a Facebook post on Monday that she went to the club on Sunday and was allowed to enter the main gate.
However, when she tried to go towards the swimming pool she was prohibited because the club “does not allow black people” to go to the pool.
“Ndimkangomva za racism koma ndaziona mudziko langa lomwe…. (I was only hearing about racism but I have been racially abused in my own country),” Chasweka said.
A grouping called Citizens for Progressive Action (CPA) said it went to the institution and staff on the ground seemed to ascertain Chasweka’s allegations that indeed black people are not allowed into the swimming pool.
“We spoke with the manager who refused to comment on the issue and referred us to one of the people in the committee. While refuting the claim on the phone, the committee member said he could not talk to us on the issue,” CPA said.
However, a representative of Mpingwe Sports Club has argued that the club only open to members who pay an annual fee of K90,000.
The representative has claimed that Chasweka was barred from accessing the pool because she is to a member.
In a related incident, an advert for a house for rent has angered Malawians over racist undertones.
The advert for the two-bedroom flat costing K300,000/ month in Blantyre said the house is currently available and “is suitable for Asian.”
The advert was posted today on a Facebook Page for a real estate firm called Best Properties.
According to CPA, the rights grouping, racism seems to be a common practice as black Malawians are being prohibited from accessing certain places.
“As a youth activist group, we will continue to lobby for inclusion and hold accountable all racist tendencies and press the Government to introduce stiffer penalties on those found guilty,” the group said.
