It has emerged that all the children who are in a company of their parents on a pilgrimage of the Seventh Day Apostolic in Mzimba are not going to school.
The children, more than thirty, who are camping with their parents at Msiki area, close to Ekwendeni, are seen loitering around the place during the time when their agemates are attending classes.
In an interview on Wednesday, one the children disclosed that he dropped out of school sometime back and has been in transit throughout his life.
“I left school some years ago. I just move with my parents on this pilgrimage,” he said.
Efforts to talk to either leaders of the pilgrimage or direct parents of the victimized children proved futile because they declined to grant an interview to this reporter.
During our visit to the place, we found most of the elders busy with different income generating activities including carpentry and tin smithing.
Earlier this month, about sixteen senior members of the church were apprehended by the Malawi Police Service for encroaching on a private land, where they are camping.
While in custody, they disclosed that they are temporarily at the place and they will be proceeding with the pilgrimage which has undisclosed destination.
Education advocate, John Nkhata, has described the situation as worrisome.
“That is violation of right to Education for the children. We’ll try to engage with relevant stakeholders to see to it that those children are sent back to school,” he said.
