Malawi"s dictatorial wheel

If there are a group of people who believe that history has the tendency of repeating itself, then Malawians must be those who could be on the forefront raising their hands up ululating and dancing, giving all the support to the notion.

Just before the 2004 general elections, good willing politicians, human rights activists and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) stood their ground defending the move by the former president Dr. Bakili Muluzi to manipulate the constitution.

Power hungry Muluzi, wanted to change the constitution to give a chance of  standing for the third term, otherwise known as the open term which would give him chance to ‘finish off’ the developments he had started.

Fearing that Muluzi was turning himself into body and soul of the dictatorial leadership of the Father and Founder of Malawi Ngwazi Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the war against the president was pursued by Brown Mpinganjira, Sam Mpasu, Justin Malewezi and Aleke Banda just to mention a few.

Determined to remain to power Muluzi used all the machinery made available to him, mostly the notorious party’s young democrats, to intimidate, harass and even kill all those who opposed his views.

The very common example is the mysterious death of the Malawi’s King of Reggae, Evison Matafale who was behind authoring a letter critical to the government, Muluzi in particular.

Not long, the National Assembly, headed by Mpasu, saved the growing democracy by rejecting the leadership’s efforts to manipulate the constitution for individual purpose.

Frustrated and feeling debased, Muluzi punished his own party by hand picking Bingu wa Mutharika, a complete outsider to lead the ruling  United Democratic Front (UDF) during the 2004 general elections, a move which saw the party’s gurus breaking out forming their own blocks  such as Mpinganjira, who formed National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Aleke Banda with Peoples Progressive Movement (PPM) and Malewezi who opted to go solo.

 No wonder, after the campaign-trail championed by Muluzi himself, Mutharika became the second leader of the South African poorest nation.

A RULING PARTY FROM BEHIND

 
Feeling home and dry, celebrating his retirement, Muluzi thought all was well in the party, but the gods were up to something else, Muntharika ditched the party as early as July 2005 and quickly formed his own party, The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which was to become a ruling block without contesting any election.

With the president’s declaring of war against all the wrong doings of the previous government, opposition parties, human rights activists and all the CSOs hailed Mutharika decision of ditching UDF, he was rendered all the support.

Determined on the fight, Mutharika’s government did not waste time, soon big fishes in the previous leadership faced the tunes, Muluzi was arrested on various corruption charges, Mpasu, Humphreys Mvula and Kennedy Makwangala followed.

The first term saw the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and UDF pinning the government in the tight corner in the National Assembly.

The parties frustrated the government by blocking and rejecting bills the government brought in the parliament, a move which was condemned by many citizens
Though through the highs and lows, Mutharika’s minority government scored marks by turning the hunger stricken nation into the one with surplus maize production.

THE BIRTH OF A DICTATOR
By 2009, Mutharika was a darling of many Malawians and no wonder, he won the year’s general elections with the landslide majority in the national assembly.

Again, human rights activists, and CSOs gave the president full support although the opposition sounded alarm bells saying Mutharika was behaving like a dictator.

After the elections, Mutharika was accorded the entire platform to rule without external interference, he was a happy leader at the helm.

“I am the sole leader of this nation and I will not accept anyone to remote control the running of this government. No passenger rings the bell of a bicycle, this is my show and my own policies will take its course,” he usually said whenever

Soon after the elections, the DPP controlled parliament started passing non famous laws such the injunction bill forbidding anyone seeking refugee to the courts against any public officer  and section 46 which gave the  information minister power to close down any publication deemed anti-government.

The party’s youth wing, later to be ordained the Youth Cadets by Mutharika himself, was on the forefront fighting anyone with dissenting views of the policies which saw the nation going back to the ruthless leadership of Kamuzu Banda, who shared the title ‘Ngwazi’ with the president.

The key issues which led to the public’s loss of confidence in the late president included, the acute foreign exchange shortage, the acute fuel shortage, electricity shortages, lack of economic prudence, corruption and abuse of power, disrespect of the rule of law, deliberate efforts to avoid or interrupt the holding of Local Government Elections, the University of Malawi crisis (failure to resolve the current stalemate between the University Council and its two constituent Colleges) and political intolerance and violence.

The CSO organised a day for national demonstrations on 20th July 2011 and the president countered that initiative with a public lecture on the same day at the state house. Government, through a private citizen got a court order stopping the demonstrations which was vacated in the morning but the police refused to respect the decision.

The result was loss of life and property for many.

When the late president Mutharika appointed the Presidential Contact and Dialogue group to engage with a team from the CSOs mediated by the United Nations, a cloud of uncertainty still en¬veloped the country as to when they will broker a deal.

Some CSO leaders in Rafik Hajat, Rob¬ert Mkwezalamba, Gift Trapence,  Brian Nyasulu and Peter Chinoko who were then members of the National Organiz¬ing Committee said the government should not waste time castigating CSO leaders but go back to the drawing board and address the issues that were affect¬ing Malawians.

An investigation has been opened into the 2011 death of an activist who had criticized Malawi's late president, his successor said Tuesday, taking one of several steps since being sworn in three days ago that mark a sharp departure from past leadership.

ENTER JOYCE BANDA

 
The tag of war between the local Civil So¬ciety Organizations (CSO) and state pres¬ident Bingu wa Mutharika refused to die even when the DPP government tried to delay the announcement of the demise of the president in their bid to have Peter Mutharika succeed his brother by taking the Vice president, Joyce Banda, to court over her for¬mation of the peoples party as a reason to disqualify her from taking over
the leadership mantle.

After it was known that the president is no more, happy faces of CSO leaders rushed to address the media that succession plans should take immediately, Banda should be given the mantle to run the government as stipulated in the constitution.

More press briefings from Banda, opposition parties and CSOs, finally, on April 7, government announced the death of president Mutharika and the vice president was sworn in the following day.

Just like after 2004, Banda has received the much required support from all sections of the nation.

 “We need not to over relax feeling that this is a new dawn for Malawi. Just like Mutharika, Banda will rule the nation with the party which has never contested in any election.

“If we sit down and think that the fight of safeguarding our hard won democracy, then I am afraid of the repeat of the past. This is the time we should stand guard against any malpractice by the leadership,” said a political analyst Lauden Malingamoyo Phiri.

President Joyce Banda , just like the late Mutharika in his early days of leadership, also announced that she is intent on repairing relations with this impoverished country's foreign donors.

So far, she has already fired the minister of information, the head of state broadcasting and constituted a commission of enquiry on the mysterious death of a 25-year-old activist Robert Chasowa.

Chasowa was found dead on a pavement at a Blantyre university campus. He had been very critical of the Mutharika administration.

Peter Mukhito, then the police chief, told reporters Chasowa killed himself, and police released two suicide notes. But relatives and friends said Chasowa was not suicidal and that the handwriting on the notes was not his.

Just hopping that president Banda will not go along with this wheel.