With just months to go before Malawi’s hotly anticipated September 2025 elections, a powerful breeze of hope blew through the streets of Blantyre this week as hundreds of young people—dreadlocked and determined—took to the streets in the “One Love, One Malawi” peace parade, calling for calm, unity, and coexistence across political divides.
Organised by a Rastafarian-led coalition of youth activists, the march was a vibrant, musical, and defiant stand against political violence, which has begun to surface in pockets across the country. The peaceful procession, themed “It’s Possible to Coexist in Diversity,” snaked its way from Clock Tower to Nyambadwe, bringing together spirited young voices from MCP, DPP, UDF, UTM, AFORD, and more—walking side by side in what some are calling the most symbolic display of national unity in recent memory.
Amid the reggae anthems and street chants, the message rang clear: Malawi belongs to everyone, and no vote is worth a life.
While the spotlight belonged to the youth, President Lazarus Chakwera, known for his relentless peace messaging, quietly became an unsung patron of the movement—donating K10 million to support logistics for the parade and meeting with organisers on the sidelines of the MUBAS graduation.
“This is how democracy should feel,” said Ras Elijah Leonard Phekani, chairperson of the organising committee. “We want peace to trend harder than violence.”
MCP Campaign Director Moses Kunkuyu, who marched shoulder to shoulder with youth from rival camps—including Norman Chisale of DPP—called it “a turning point” in Malawi’s democratic maturity.
As the sweet sounds of The Black Missionaries, Lambanie Dube, and Alleluya Band echoed through Blantyre’s streets, one truth marched ahead of the rest: peace has found a voice, and it wears dreadlocks and a smile.
