Hundreds injured in stampede for jobs

The health authorities in Malawi’s northern city of Mzuzu say 158 people have received treatment for various injuries they suffered following a stampede that ensued when thousands of mostly young people reported for government job interviews.

The health ministry announced that it was hiring hundreds of health workers to go to rural communities as health surveillance assistants (HSA).

Applicants were told to attend walk-in interviews at various centres across the country.

Tens of thousands thronged interview centres in the capital, Lilongwe, and in the southern city of Blantyre.

But it was in the city of Mzuzu, in the north, where a huge stampede resulted in injuries.

Rights activists tweeted some footage from the scene:

The Ministry of Health in Malawi announced “walk-in” interviews in the entire country for HSA workers! This happened at one interview site: thousands of people showed up.

No signs of adherence to their own covid-19 protocols, leading to rife speculations about election rigging. pic.twitter.com/zCzUOQ0LMt

— Friends of HRDC Malawi (@Friends_of_HRDC) June 9, 2020

Source: bbc.com