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More than 6 thousand people from within and abroad are expected to witness the consecration ceremony of Father Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda as an Auxiliary bishop of the Diocese.

Organising Chairperson of the event Father Raymond Mwale says President Lazarus Chakwera will be the guest of honor at the event scheduled to take place in Mzuzu tomorrow Saturday.

“More and more people have confirmed their attendance this Saturday. We are likely to experience some rainfall but we have plans to erect tents in the stadium so that the event does not face any hiccups.

But who is Rev. Fr. Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda?

Born on 20th June 1976, Rev. Fr. Yohane Nyirenda hails from Wozi in Mzimba District and was ordained as a priest of Mzuzu Diocese on 19th July 2008.

Rev. Fr Nyirenda has served in various positions at national and diocesan levels including Director of Kasina Formation Centre from 2019 to  2023; Director and Formator at Christ the King Formation Centre in Rumphi; Parish Priest of Saint Augustine Parish and Vocations Directors in Mzuzu Diocese.

Pope Francis on Friday, May 5, 2023, appointed Fr. Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Mzuzu in Malawi.

As Auxiliary Bishop, Rev. Fr. Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda will serve as an assistant to the Ordinary of the Diocese Bishop John Alphonsus Ryan in giving pastoral care to the people of God and meeting the administrative needs of Mzuzu Diocese.

Apart from the priestly studies which he did from the year 2000 to 2008, the Bishop-elect is a holder of a Diploma in Ecclesiastical (Canon Law from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa as well as a Diploma in Religious Formation and Spirituality.

“This profile of the Auxiliary Bishop, Rev. Fr. Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda tells it all how capable he is,” said Father Raymond Mwale.

Father Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda will be the first Auxiliary Bishop of the Mzuzu Diocese which was created in 1961.

Journalist
Steve Zimba
Malawi
+265999776776
stezimba@gmail.com

The Catholic Commission for Justice and  Peace (CCJP) under the Mzuzu Diocese has called for an immediate review of the Witchcraft law that can deal with atrocities perpetrated on people accused of practicing witchcraft where most of them are elderly.

CCJP Coordinator of the diocese, Felix Manda suggested this at a press conference in Mzuzu on Tuesday where he commented on the gruesome Mzimba witchcraft incident where two elderly women were verbally and physically harassed on allegations that one of them killed her daughter-in-law through magic.

“The Witchcraft Act must be reviewed to protect people, people are being victimized on hearsay. And as the CCJP who are implementing various programs in Mzimba, have not done enough in popularising the current law and as result, people are ignorant about the law,” says Manda.

The Commission is planning to meet all senior traditional leaders in Mzimba to bring them into dialogue as a measure of reducing these incidents in the district.

Recommended  Manda: “We are calling on all traditional leaders across the diocese to comply with the Witchcraft Act. All chiefs in the diocese should stop granting permission to witchdoctors from performing extortions in their areas, and all chiefs where the incident occurred, should be picked up by police for questioning for failing to contain the situation of that day.”

A Mzuzu University-based social commentator Dr. Chrispin Mphande suggests traditional leaders should lead the process of banning witchdoctors from performing rituals in their communities.

“There is need for various stakeholders like the CCJP to sensitize people about the issue of Witchcraft. Most people who believe in this issue have low levels of education and their understanding is too limited,” noted Dr. Mphande.

Police in Mzimba have since arrested 20 people in the area of traditional authority Kampingo Sibande on allegations that they harassed two elderly women one of them was accused of killing her daughter-in-law. Last weekend a video clip of suspects harassing the two elderly women went viral on social media that attracted anger from most people in the country.

Journalist
Steve Zimba
Malawi
+265999776776
stezimba@gmail.com