The Malawian soldier Chancy Chitete will be honoured with the United Nation's (UN) highest peacekeeping award, dubbed as "Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage". He will be awarded posthumously during the Peacekeepers’ Day commemorations at UN Headquarters in New York, the US on May 24, 2019.
Despite the nomination of several peacekeepers for exceptional service over the past four years, the awarding of the Medal to Private Chitite will mark the first time the actions of a UN peacekeeper have been found to meet the standard set by Captain Diagne.
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Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage Award:
The award is officially named as the Captain Mbaye Diagne Medal for Exceptional Courage. The award is named after the late UN peacekeeper Captain Diagne. Diagne served with former UN Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR) and saved thousands of Rwandans from death in the 1994 genocide.
It was established in 2014.
It is awarded to uninformed (police, military) and civilian personnel who have demonstrated exceptional courage, in face of extreme danger, and fulfilled mandate of their missions in service of humanity and United Nations.
Chitete's courage:
In an operation undertaken in November 2018, he sacrificed his life while saving his fellow comrade 'blue helmet' during an operation against local armed group named Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
The ADF is an armed force in DRC which had been terrorizing civilians and disrupting the UN's ongoing efforts to halt and treat the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. The remarkable actions of Private Chitete helped protect many lives, both civilian and military.
