President Joyce Banda will on Saturday inaugurate Chirumba Garrison as the Malawi Rifles 11th Battalion (11MR).

Officials at Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) indicate that Banda will declare the Battalion, which has been upgraded with modern infrastructure including houses in her capacity as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), exercising powers vested in her by Section 161 Sub-Section 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi.

The commissioning of the Karonga based new Battalion, will be at Civo Stadium where the military will troupe the Battalion’s new colours.

Commanding Officer (CO) Lt. Col. Boniface Kamwendo for Chirumba is in the capital Lilongwe with his troops and others from other battalions practicing, with dress rehearsal expected Friday.

“Previously known as known as Chilumba Garrison, the 11th battalion was upgraded to a fully-fledged battalion on November 2nd, 2012,”said a statement made available to Nyasa Times.

Once commissioned, 11MR will be the second in the North after 3MR, Moyale Barracks in Mzuzu City.

Meanwhile, MDF is appealing to the general public to come in large numbers and witness the wonderful, important military event.