Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) member Macdonald Sembereka has defended his appointment as a diplomat, saying he suffered alone in prison.
Sembereka together with two other rights activist, Luke Tembo and Billy Mayaya, have been given diplomatic jobs by the Lazarus Chakwera administration.
Malawians have claimed that the trio has been rewarded for leading anti-government demonstrations during the Peter Mutharika administration.
But Sembereka, who is going to the United Nations in New York, has fired back, saying he suffered alone after being arrested by the police when Mutharika was in power.
Sembereka was arrested in 2019 over fraud allegations and last year for organizing demonstrations aimed at sealing State House.
Meanwhile, Malawians on social media say Sembereka’s remarks show that he was fighting for his own rights.
“This means those who were demonstrating were just helping these guys to uplift their living standards. Meanwhile some demonstrators are seen selling sweets others digging mice in the villages,” said one person on social media.
