A Quick Look at Malawi’s First 20 Years of The 21st Century

A Bright Mhango Special 

First things first: we should give respect to the 90’s for the foundations they laid. Kamuzu got dethroned, democracy returned and most of what will be talked about here has roots in the 90s.  Also a quick disclaimer here, I put up this piece alone, it is biased of course, if you don’t like it, fuck you. Also, I keep saying ‘20 Years’ because 2020 is already here and because 2020 will not bring drastic historical change enough to make some issues discussed here irrelevant.

An ode to the Cell phone.

At the start of the century, post office workers behaved like pretty girls among ugly ones. They had our lives by the balls. To receive money we had to get telegrams, to send messages we had to use snail mail. Not for long, when the cell phones got rooted, it revolutionized Malawi.

Everyone wanted to invest in a telephone bureau.  Oh yes, remember the telephone bureaus, then came the Nokias, my first was a 3310, then I moved to a 6600. Remember the Blackberry mania?

It may seem like an eon ago, but we have moved from Post Office to WhatsApp very fast.

Tip a hat to the FM radio

Back in the dark ages there was only MBC, Yeah, tough, I know. With the coming of FM 101 in 1998, things were headed in a different direction. Along came Capital Radio and then in 2005 Zodiak, launched by one Gospel Kazako came to take over. The last 20 years have seen radio take root among Malawians. No longer did they have to have long aerials to catch Channel Africa or BBC, the FM signal meant that the urbanites could enjoy crispy delivery.

Here we have to pause to remember the likes of Adha Mhone, Hope Chisanu, Gerald Viola, Joy Natho, Sister Fire and all that crew that made radio so dear.

Vehicle of the Century: Toyota Hiace

There are not more than 6000 minibuses in Malawi and if you are living in Mzuzu now you might actually wonder why the fuck a minibus could win this accolade, but you need to look at the bigger picture.

When the transportation industry was liberalised and pricing no longer controlled by government, there was a boom in minibus proliferation. One of the advantages of the minibus was that it was speed and convenience. It could stop anywhere and could reach places where big buses never went. Some traffic police officers should thank minibuses for the homes they live in.

ARVs – an Incredible Revolution

Malawi realised that it had HIV in 1985; I remember they told stories of it first being identified in some Miss Malawi. I remember a health worker – a Mrs. Mseteka – coming to our primary school to educate us about the disease, it was mythical back in the 90s. People said HIV patients could be noticed by looking for a coin-like imprint on their tongues and so on.

But Matenda a Boma was not here to play. Records say in the 90s up to 30 percent of pregnant women had it. It was fucking insane; they effects of that 80s-90s boom took its toll at the end of the last and the start of this century, people were dying like crazy. If you stood at Kameza or Luwinga or by Salima Road, the number of dead being ferried to their villages for burial in the 97s was fucking ridiculous. 

They even say the food crisis of 2002 was because the labour pool was hit badly by the disease. It is why ARVs deserve a place in our history. Deaths were stemmed, lives saved, and some labour returned to production. Now with almost 90% of us knowing our status and 70 percent of roughly one million infected being on ART, let us not forget where we are coming from. The stupid stigma that the disease came with and how our traditional approach and our hiding behind religion almost cost us a nation.

Honorary mention: The Polio vaccine.

When I was young most adults had significant numbers of polio victims. When I went to secondary school in 2002, I think my whole school had no one with Polio related disability.

Things we buried

Quinine, that dear and dreaded Malaria cure. The AM radio. Those outrageous FUBU type hip hop attires, Adha Muhone, Matafale, Vic Marley, Mafunyeta, Chakufwa Chihana, Matchipisa Munthali, Dr Rubadiri, Landson Mhango, Josephy Tembo, Rodwell Munyenyembe, George Mtafu to list but a few. We also cannot explain where erstwhile domestic names like Undule Mwakasungula went.

Bingu wa Mutharika – Malawian of the last 2 Decades

Bakili Muluzi was all about running his mouth; he wasted the hopeful momentum the country had after ditching Kamuzu. He could have harnessed the momentum to entrench democracy and institutions, but he didn’t. He got rich and the country got fucked. I cannot remember how many times the syllabus got changed under him, education was watered down and Malawi became more corrupt under him for sure. That is Why Bingu is important.

Don’t get too excited yet, Bingu never helped us either, in fact, fuck Bingu. May he rot in peace. He is however our man of the decade because he represented a watershed moment in many ways. He was an outside man, he spoke against corruption, and he held on to the fertilizer subsidy and actually registered some spectre of success with it.

He also took Malawi from China ROC to China PRC and was prepared to confront our colonial masters.

Mutharika however stole our money: he was a basic man before taking power and yet died with over 60 billion. His associates continue to fuck the country to date.

He also attempted to be a junior Mugabe and copied his rhetoric on gays and that did not help. Donors left us in limbo and we all remember the forex and fuel shortages and the university closures under him.

He is the man of the last two decades for not only turning us on with hope that we lost under Bakili Muluzi but also leaving us horny with his short-sightedness and a DPP party that continues to just finger us with their kletpo-nepoto-mediocratic rule.

I should have said fool of the decade, really.

Hall of Shame.

Walter Nyamilandu – For clinging on to office for so long  when the right thing to do is to stand down after failing to significantly improve Malawian soccer.

Peter Mukhito – For his zealotly, role and stand during the Academic Freedom saga.

Jane Ansah – For Not resigning when her office was called into question and still clinging onto her office even when the country burned and people died over her stay in office.

Bingu – That motherfucker

Bakili Muluzi – For his shambolic rule

Cancers

Violent Crime

We entered the new century with much euphoria – not for the people of Chiradzulu. Women and girls never dared to go out after dusk lest they get discovered dead without their breasts and vaginas.  It was scary.

When TVs and Stereos and other electronics were white elephants in Malawi, there was a string of robberies in the cities, the scary ones being those guys that came as group of 20 and smashed in doors with rocks.

Then the Albino Killings that are still on-going.  A type of racist lynching, I call it.

Under this heading, a few stand out. First is the killing of a pregnant 26yo Linda Gasa in 2010. She was killed and buried in a shallow concrete grave. Her boyfriend is still the main suspect.

Then Robert Chasowa was hacked in 2011 by alleged DPP thugs.

Then there was the killing of Issa Njauju in 2014 of an ACB employee by corrupt people?

Some of the Iconic and brutal images we have seen in the last 20 years have been courtesy of the Malawi Police Disservice.

Corruption

Here the Police led by the DPP take centre stage but the whole nation is in on it too. I can count using just my five fingers my close friends who actually went to driving school before they got their driving licenses.

Nachipanti

At the height of the first decade of the 21^st Century gory and macabre murders scenes started appearing in Ndirande Blantyre, the same hysteria that gripped the women of Chiradzulu gripped Ndirande residents.  Some Jack Bandawe was named by police as principal suspect.

Albino Killings

This is its own category despite having already been discussed under violent crime because despite Malawians always having harboured superstitious attitudes towards albinos, it was only this decade that saw them being hunted, kidnapped, cut up and their bones yanked off sometimes while the victims were still alive. It is unprecedented, only Malawian women have been specifically targeted like that for their body parts.

Mulanje ‘Bloodsuckers’ Hysteria

Now, most of the people in the rural and urban areas in Malawi are - how do I say achimidzi in English? – I will go with uncivilized. That came to the fore in at the end of 2017 and into 2018 when they formed lynch mobs attacking cars and foreigners  suspecting them of being vampires and fuelling mass hysteria.

Men of God – Pentecostal Churches

The Catholics, Presbyterian and Anglicans ruled the religious scene, they rooted out ATR and planted Jesus in Malawian hearts, but like the Post Office and cell phones, they can now only watch as new age charismatic Pentecostal churches built around men explode... Ndovie, Living waters, Cavalry Family, Bushiri – I could go on and on.

If you enter Blantyre, start counting from Lunzu, there are more of these churches than schools or hospitals or schools and hospitals combined.

Many, mostly feebly educated females have sold out to this rebranded Jesus and spend hours on end praying in aggressive terms to this new Jesus. Back in the day the only annoying religious noise was the muezzin from the mosques and an occasional bell from the big chapels, these days neighbours bellowing out players all night is as common as Usipa at the market.

The Return of Traditional Healers

Another type of cancer that has made a return to Malawi are these doctors - falsely so called. Now if you open the newspaper or walk around our dirty cities there are thousands of posters on walls and poles advertising how some doctor will bring back lost love, help secure employment and even cure chronic diseases such as cancer. They are the cancer.

Police

Okay now, this is an important institution in a democracy but sadly, in Malawi the police in the last two decades have operated more like a ruling party paramilitary wing. There have been police caught using service guns to rob; the amount of police that get painted black in the Robert Chasowa murder is staggering.

The Century started with Police gunning down Fanikiso Phiri in December 2001 and in you fast-forward through the last 20 years via July 20, 2011 and up to the recent publication of a report that says police have been systematically killing suspects, you get the picture. 

Some of my least moral friends joined the police and I don’t know any other institution more corrupt in Malawi.

Their playing cuckold to the DPP government as we saw with the July 2011 demonstrations, their handling of the Academic Freedom Saga and their trigger-happy policing tactics that see them flinging teargas at anything they encounter has seen them become targets whenever Malawians are disgruntled, very few see them as neutral arbiters – very few.

The traffic police – let me not even begin to speak of those motherfuckers. I wouldn’t be surprised if they found that for every 100 Kwacha a traffic police officer has in the bank 80 Kwacha comes from being bribed.

Street Vendors

Another group of sick fucks. Yes, they are at least trying to better their lives by selling trinkets, but they are still a cancer. They make the cities look like shitholes; they engender crime and harassment and go against the law.

UDF

The initial plan was to list this as ‘Politicians’  but I was like fuck it, there have only been two parties of note in the last 20 years.  So yeah, led by Muluzi, the UDF wrestled power from MCP; they led the privatisation era and also the plunder of public coffers. Most of the UDF bigwigs resultantly got very rich.

DPP

When Bingu grabbed power from UDF he rode the anti-corruption sentiment but was soon to also lead his own crusade to implant his own mates, kinsmen and yes-men in critical positions to loot and chop public coffers as well. Most of the people in the DPP were UDF people after all, making DPP a mere UDF 2.0.

Sports Betting

I remember back in my primary school days even betting over playing cards  was done in secret, that all seems like in the past with the giant sports betting companies ruling most of the Malawian youth’s lives. If anyone who died in 2012 woke up today, he would be shocked at how sports betting has gained ground. A cancer.

Alcoholism

Now, let us not lie, there has always been alcohol among societies. It however took a different look in the last 19 years. Cheap alcohol sold in plastic sachets saw most of our youths drinking. Even after the ban, the still cheaper but larger Ice Londons are still very attractive to the youths. A cancer.

Illiteracy and cultural poverty

We have internet, we have the FM radio and Wikipedia and education at the primary level is free but when you look at the comment section of Malawians or when you listen in on public debates of snoop in on the WhatsApp groups  you can see that those Malawians online can write, but that is about it. No depth. It is worse among those Malawians offline.  Give them free internet, they will look at porn and browse about scandals, give them TV, they will watch sports and drama. Not many are into self-improvement or knowledge acquisition.

Future Issues

China

China is here, Bingu brought it here. They are here for a reason. They will be one of the most significant relationships we will have to deal with in the next 20 years and if we don’t have a policy or plan, we will follow theirs. We might not want to do that.

Population management

It is growing. Even people who need to be shot dead on sight or castrated are having babies. Most of the friends I consider dumb already have multiple babies. We will need a plan for these babies we are spewing. How to feed, house, educate and give them opportunities to earn a living. A big population is desirable, but a hungry, uneducated and unemployed one is a waste of DNA and resources.

Natural Resources Management

Yeah, the hills in Blantyre are 98% bare, we all use charcoal but no one owns a forest, the rivers and lakes are being overfished like crazy, we don’t particularly have that much coal and all this mining we are getting into cannot go past 2050. So what do we do with the little we have left?

Tribal Strife

If Bingu’s Anti Northern Region sentiments were nothing to go by then the election in 2019 told us that it is not just hatred against the north that is the norm. The MCP, read Chewa, feel that it was robbed and the Yao and Lhomwe, read UDF and DPP, for the first time banded together to keep power in the South. We saw some isolated overt outbursts of tribal bigotry in the aftermath of the election, but it has largely been muffled. But it is cancer, it is there and it needs to be explicitly seen to.

Illiteracy and cultural poverty

An idle, feebly educated youth is a time bomb. A culturally poor society means stuff like witchcraft and blind belief in religion will persist.

Mass Hysteria and Fake News

The recent lynch mobs in Mulanje, the stories about men being caught in the ceiling at the court, the clan clashes in Nkhata Bay and Mangochi all have a mass hysteria angle and some are fuelled by the very technology we acquired in this century.

The death of Tobacco 

We are a mono-economy, we rely on a crop that is being ditched globally. We might want to start looking at alternatives to tobacco.

Outro

Bakili said every Malawian would have a shoe on, Vision 2020 had incredible predictions about the just passed 20 years, Even the UN was in on it with their sweet-sounding  Millenium Development Goals.

We missed most targets and we will miss most of the upcoming ones, do not believe the party manifestos or the words of the likes of Walter Nyamilandu or Peter Mutharika. Our National Team will never play like Barcelona and Malawi will never develop to the level of Europe, not in our lifetime.

We cannot because we do not have the institutions to allow it. All we have is greed. We all want a house and a car and our kids to do well - we don't care whether that comes at the expense of others or the country.  We are fucked and will stay so until we build an inclusive and true democracy. 

Out.

NGO's And Civil Society Call For ICC Investigations and Prosecution On July 20 Killings

HUMAN RIGHTS CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE (HRCC),  MALAWI  CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS (MCTU ) , PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE (PAC),  CHURCH AND SOCIETY OF LIVINGSTONIA SYNOD, CHURCH AND SOCIETY NKHOMA OF  SYNOD,  CIVIC AND POLITICAL SPACE PLATFORM, THE CENTRE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE (CEDEP) AND CENTRE FOR HUMAN  RIGHTS AND REHABILITATION (CHRR)

CALL FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) FOR INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTE 20^TH JULY KILLINGS.

1^st  August,  2011/Lilongwe Malawi

Press Statement

The Civil Society Organizations in Malawi which organized the 20^th July 2011 national demonstration would like to make a special call to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague to investigate and possibly prosecute His Excellency Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Hon Aaron Sangala and Inspector General Of Police, Peter Mukhitho for crimes against humanity in respect to the death of 18 people and serious wounding hundreds of unarmed innocent people during the nationwide demonstration. This request is in line with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Article 5 (1) (b).  

We strongly submit that the arbitrary killing of the 18 unarmed demonstrators at the hands of the police is an indication of the unacceptable failure and negligence in our Police System in their duty to safeguarding the lives Malawians as enshrined in the Malawi constitution.

The Malawi Constitution in section 16 guarantees that “….every person has the right to life and no person shall be arbitrary deprived of his or her life….”

The same constitution of Malawi squarely puts the responsibility to safeguard and protect the lives and property of Malawians on the police.

Besides, section 153(1) of the Malawi constitution provides for “…….the protection of public safety and the rights of persons in Malawi according to the prescriptions …” of the same.

The organizing committee therefore fails to comprehend as to where the Police got the mandate to shoot and maim unarmed demonstrators, the very same people it is mandated to protect at all cost.

It is even more disturbing to note that even when the High Court in Lilongwe had lifted the court injunction restraining the demonstrations, some overzealous police officer went ahead to use force and live bullets to shoot at unarmed and peaceful demonstrators. This in direct contrast with the provision of the Malawi constitution which provides in Section 153(3)  that “….in the exercise of their functions, members of the Malawi Police Service shall be subject to the direction of the courts and shall be bound by such orders of the courts….’

Contrary to this the Malawi Police service went ahead to detain, beat up severely leaders of the Civil Society Organizations, Political Party Leaders and journalists injuring Isaac Kambwiri and Amos Gumulira journalists working for the Capital Radio and The Nation Newspaper respectively.

Besides, just to vindicate our fears that the police is being used to perpetrate crimes against humanity, the Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Police who is also the Sate President said-just two days after the killing of the 18 civilians during the pass out parade of police officer cadets-that he will ‘smoke out’ and deal with all those that organized the 20 July demonstrations.

Malawians especially those that have a contrary view to the ideas being advanced by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led government have become a target of either the police of the DPP youth militias.

Innocent lives have been lost, people continue to live in constant fear of their lives and there is no any assuring words whatsoever from those that we have entrusted with protecting us to protection. The organizers of the 20 July have gone into hiding in fear of their lives.

Notwithstanding the above, we are of the view that the above account clearly constitutes crimes against humanity as provided in article 7 (1) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court proscribing the following:

 (a) Murder; (18 have so far been confirmed dead)

(e)  Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;

(f)  Torture;

(k)  Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to 

body or to mental or physical health.

Government through the Presidency or Ministry of Home affairs and Internal security have either come in the open to either accept responsibility nor  apologize nor offer some sort of compensation to the lives they arbitrary took from innocent people. Regrettably the Malawi Police Services themselves have issued a statement indicating that they only shot “looters” and they will not be investigating their own officers when they were duly carrying out their protective mandate.

Five days after the killings, wounding, there is neither any talk of instituting an independent investigation to “smoke out” whoever was directly or indirectly involved in shooting innocent people and possibly bring them to book. This only underlines that fact that, in the face of government, the innocent lives lost during the 20 July demonstrations is nothing but just a another statistic. It is also clear that there is unwillingness to investigate and prosecute the police officers who killed the innocent civilians which in accordance with article 17 of the Rome Statute clearly shows satisfaction of the admissibility issues and merits the intervention of the ICC.

Finally, we are also concerned of more violence as reprisals by the government through arbitrary arrests and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) youth cadets who the president called upon to protect him against those who criticize him. In line with all this, the Cadets have been issuing threats to people including riding a four-vehicle-convoy on the eve of the demonstration in the city of Blantyre brandishing machetes whilst singing that they will deal with anyone who criticize the president and government. The President and his ministers have also spoken of the need to “punish” the organizers of the demonstration and President Muthalika warned that NGO leaders will be “smoked out” of their hiding places including from their houses or caves. This shows a regime which is hatching plans to crack down on those who prepared the demonstration as well as those who participated.

In view of this the undersigned, therefore would like to call upon the ICC to come in and institute and investigation, prosecute and bring to book all relevant authorities who failed in their duties to safeguard the lives of the 18 people who died at the hand of the Police Service as well as 41 people who remained admitted in hospital.   We have also attached various photos showing the events of July 20 as well as clearly showing the brutality of the Malawi Police Services.

Endorsed by:-

The Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC)

The Malawi Congress of Trade Union (MCTU)

The Public Affairs Committee (PAC)

Church and Society, Livingstonia Synod

Church and Society – Nkhoma Synod

Civic and Political Space Platform

Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR)

Centre for Development of People (CEDEP)

Statement From The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition

"Malawi is not alone, support for the July 20 Demos keeps streaming in, Vuwa, Ntaba and comopany stand alone!"

“If there is anything that we must learn from the upheavals going on in the northern part of our continent, it is that the legitimate expectations of the citizens of our countries cannot be taken for granted. We must, therefore, continue at the SADC level to consolidate democracy through the establishment of institutions that uphold the tenets of good government, respect for human rights and the rule of law.” - Zambian President, Ruppiah Banda

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (The Coalition) stands in solidarity with human rights activists, students, churches and the people of Malawi in their quest for the establishment of democratic institutions, good governance and poverty reduction in their country. Citizens of Malawi have been protesting since the 20th of July against rising poverty levels, lack of basic social services particularly water and electricity, mismanaging of the economy by the government and trampling of democratic freedoms.

The Coalition is concerned with the death of at least 19 innocent civilians during the protests, the firing of live ammunition at peaceful protesters by the police, deployment of military personnel to quell the protests, arrests of 275 people and utterances by the President of Malawi, Bingu waMutharika threatening to ‘smoke out’ organisers of the protests. This is not the first time that President Bingu waMutharika and his government have disrespected the rights of Malawian citizens. In 2009, his government arrested and later sentenced a gay couple to 14 years imprisonment under unclear homosexual charges. The couple was later granted pardon after the intervention of the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.

The Malawian government should remember that it has a constitutional mandate to defend its people and their liberties. The continued abuse of power by the police and military and utterances by the President show the evident intolerance for civic freedoms by the Malawian government. It is important that the Malawian government bears in mind the fact that citizens have a legitimate right to protest against oppression and government excesses.

It is important that the Malawian government takes heed of the wise counsel from President Ruppiah Banda at the SADC Troika meeting held in Zambia in April 2011 that the demands and expectations of citizens should be respected. The Coalition further upholds the statement made by the Public Affairs Committee, one of the progressive forces in Malawi which said in a statement, ‘Bullets and tear gas have never triumphed over the will of the people’.

The Coalition thus calls upon the government of Malawi to;

1. Respect and uphold the rights of the citizens to show dissatisfaction with their government by staging non- violent protests

2. Desist from stifling the freedoms of its citizens by violently quashing the protests and threatening the organisers

3. Address the concerns of its citizens by taking measures towards proper management of government finances, poverty reduction and respect of fundamental freedoms particularly press and academic freedoms

4. Investigate and bring to book murderers of the fallen 19

5. Release the 275 people unjustly arrested and detained since the 20th of July 2011.

Botswana Opposition Leader Demands Apology From Khama For Hosting Mutharika

"Statement by the Leader of Opposition, Botsalo Ntuane, to be delivered on

Tuesday 26 July 2011 in the National Assembly on developments in Malawi

and how the Botswana government should respond."

The Opposition Collective in the Parliament of Botswana joins the rest of the

democratic community in condemning the cold blooded massacre, on 20th and

21st July 2011 of 18 demonstrators by the government of President Bingu

wa Mutharika. This terrible act of violence against unarmed civilians,

protesting the escalating cost of living, fuel and foreign exchange shortages,

as well as repression and violation of human rights, is unprecedented in the

history of Malawi. We note that even during the one party dictatorship of

Hastings Kamuzu Banda, nothing on this scale was ever visited on the civilian

population by the government. The economic problems in Malawi which

precipitated the demonstrations have been authored by a stubborn President

Mutharika whose deteriorating human rights record has forced donors to cut

off much needed aid.

As the Opposition Collective, we can rightly proclaim we saw this coming.

The nation will recall that on 1 April 2011, the Chairman of the Botswana

Movement for Democracy(BMD) and also Member of Parliament for Lobatse

addressed a press conference in the precincts of Parliament announcing a

boycott of the official opening of the Lobatse Stadium facility by President

Mutharika. Hon Modubule’s stance which reflected the indignation of the

Opposition Collective was premised on well founded concerns at a disturbing

trend of developments in Malawi.

In a pattern of behaviour which suggested that state violence will soon be

perpetrated against the citizenry, President Mutharika has in the past incited the

youth cadres of his Democratic Progressive Party to assault opposition

supporters who dared criticize him. Another consideration which informed our

boycott of President Mutharika was his display of intolerance to critical views,

when he assented to Section 46 Penal Code Amendment Bill which grants the

Minister for Information the power to arbitrarily close down publications, outside

due process. To us this assault on the press, which we consider a critical

guardian of democracy and good governance was unacceptable.

The delinquent conduct of President Mutharika knows no bounds. We noted

with concern the sustained attacks on the Non Governmental Organisations,

leading to some activists fleeing into exile because they fear for their lives.

Like the proverbial bull in a china shop, immediately after his departure from

Botswana, President Mutharika expelled the ‘British High Commissioner for

describing him in a diplomatic cable as ‘autocratic and intolerant of criticism”

We contend that President Mutharika is being aided and abetted in his

campaign of repression by the government of Botswana which continues to

treat him like a distinguished statesman when many in the international

community are shunning him. It should be a source of shame that President

Khama, in a display of bad judgment, and against our counsel, invited this

dictator to our country. In its unbridled contempt for the Opposition, this

government disregards all our advice, the consequence of which is a

situation where our country is today associated with rogues like President

Mutharika. It is shocking to many that a government with a predilection for

playing to the international gallery on issues of democracy and human rights

has remained silent in the face of the unfolding tragedy in Malawi. To us this

silence means the government of Botswana condones the deplorable actions

of President Mutharika.

We pose this question, how different is President Mutharika from Muammar

Gadaffi in Libya, Bashar Al Assad in Syria, Omar Al Bashir in Sudan, and all the

other dictators that have attracted the sanctimonious wrath of the Botswana

government over rights violations and atrocities against their own citizens?

The deafening silence, which can only be ascribed to the embarrassment felt by

the Botswana government, amounts to a betrayal of the people of Malawi,

particularly victims of the state sponsored violence. Indeed contrary of the

grandstanding characterizing previous statements about how the Botswana

government sides with the people against repressive regimes, the simple truth

is that these expressions of support are mere lip service; and just like those it

condemns, the Botswana government practices double standards, and will side

with its friends in power, hence the tacit support given to President Mutharika on

account of the ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ posture.

To this end the Parliamentary Opposition Collective demands the

following from the Botswana government;

1. An unequivocal statement condemning the actions of the government of

President Mutharika.

2. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Phandu Skelemani to summon the

High Commissioner of Malawi to Botswana for a meeting at which he will

convey the statement of condemnation.

3. To demand an immediate end to the ongoing harassment , detention and

torture of opposition and civil society activists; many of whom are now

in hiding.

4. To support an investigation by the International Criminal Court on the

killings in Malawi, and for such support to be extended to prosecutions

that will follow.

5. To apologise to both the people of Botswana and Malawi for hosting

President Mutharika in April 2011.

6. To undertake to listen to the counsel of the Opposition Collective in

future and undertake not to invite any dictators to Botswana.

Failure to do any of the above will give true meaning to the idiom that we

judge you by the company you keep. Batswana and the international

community should henceforth judge this government by the friends it keeps

in the form of President Mutharika and his murderous regime.

End.

The Ultimate or Detestable Red Soldier?

During the July 20 demos in Malawi, people came out to the streets to protest various issues but this one was the ultimate protester, in a country where the whole nation almost agrees to be homophobic, this guy put on this T-shirt and was not moved at all...

Britain Warns Mutharika On Violence

Of course Britain might be angry at the loss of domain (and trade?) after Malawi sent its top diplomat packing but this statement from the Foreign Office Minister, Henry Billingham, is well intended, me thinks...

Mutharika delivered his shambles earlier today and only managed to call protesters “satanic” and he also threatened that he “knew those who were behind the demos”...typical of the likes of Assad, Mubarak and Libya’s embattled colonel

Henry Billingham said:

“The ongoing violence and reprisals by elements connected to President Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party underline the concern that the UK has expressed about the state of democratic governance and human rights in Malawi.  This situation is extremely worrying and I offer my sincere condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives. I urge all parties to show restraint.

“The rights of free assembly and expression guaranteed under the Malawian Constitution must be respected.  The UK utterly condemns the threatening behaviour of machete wielding DPP activists and the violent attacks on demonstrators and the media.  I call on President Mutharika to rein in the security forces and elements of his party, and to allow the media to report freely on the situation in the country.  Any attacks or reprisals against demonstrators, opposition leaders or the media are absolutely unacceptable.”

Meanwhile all eyes will be on Benghazi, I mean Mzuzu, the capital city of Northern Malawi as the 7 or so, who died in the protests will be buried...we might not have Imams to instigate us but with the Livingstonia Synod (Mutharika’s clear cut enemy) ripe in that city, am expecting fireworks...God have mercy.

Meanwhile today was a good day for most of the cities...I can’t speak for others but the part of Blantyre that I live was very calm and nowhere near tense...I even went out shopping!

20 July Photos

I spent the rest of 20 July running with the crowd and eking out pix, here is what i got from the demos: its on my Facebook and the profile is open

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2121640594260.123273.1043167958

or

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2121639034221.123272.1043167958

tag away...share...no copyright....

Here Is What Bingu Has Been Given Today (Draft Petition In Full)

POOR ECONOMIC AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE IN MALAWI

“Uniting to Resist Poor Economic and Democratic Governance

“A Better Malawi Is Possible”

CONCERNS & RECOMMENDATIONS

In legitimate exercise of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, We, Members of Civil Society have joined hands with Workers, Faith Communities and Concerned Citizens from all walks of life, to hold peaceful country-wide mass demonstrations today, the 20^th July 2011 upholding the theme: “Uniting for Peaceful Resistance Against Poor Economic and Democratic Governance – “A Better Malawi Is Possible”. These demonstrations are part of a series of nation-wide mass actions that will continue to respond to such crises until feasible solutions have been found and implemented.

Malawi is currently facing a series of catastrophes on multiple fronts due to economic mismanagement and democratic derogation by the incumbent leadership and administration. The current leadership and administration continue to disregard caution and advice regarding the crises, choosing to engage in empty political rhetoric without providing any actionable solutions or alternatives. Any dissenting or alternative views result in adversarial clamp downs, a practice that is unacceptable within the current democratic dispensation that we all fought hard for and are prepared to defend at all costs.

The challenges currently facing Malawi are too numerous to mention, however the following issues may suffice to demonstrate the cause of our discomfort;

Acute Foreign Exchange (Forex) Shortages

Malawi has experienced acute shortage of foreign exchange for over 2 years, with no end in sight. Indeed, there is cause to believe that the current shortages are the worst in all our 47 year history since the attainment of independence.

Significant numbers of people scramble in queues for forex that may be available at any foreign exchange point, in a pathetic display of fruitless desperation.

The acute shortages have had many consequences such as:

·       scarcity of products and services due to difficulties in importation of essential products;

·       Malawians who utilise foreign currency have searched in vain:

◦    to pay expenses when travelling abroad,

◦   when purchasing products which are not produced locally,

◦    to send school fees for dependants studying abroad,

◦   to pay for examination fees to foreign education providers;

◦   when accessing treatment for vital medical facilities;

Numerous reasons, such as poor tobacco sales (which used to provide 74% of our forex inflow has dwindled by over 70%), have been forwarded to explain the shortage of forex in Malawi, but these show a clear divide between advice from economic experts and rhetorical defences from the current leadership and its administration and, in so doing, merely serve to increase confusion and uncertainty.

However, one fact remains indisputable and that is: the forex crisis continues to escalate and the current administration has failed to demonstrate the ability to reverse the situation any time soon.

Acute Fuel Shortage:  Malawi is now labelled as a ‘fuel queue nation'

This year has seen the most acute fuel shortages in Malawi in 47 years of independence. A common scene that greets the eyes at every filling station is extremely long queues of cars, with people waiting for hours or even, days to get access to a few litres of fuel.

The acute and incessant fuel shortages have caused shrinkages in transportation which limit people travelling. Service providers are unable to transport products around the country, leading to shortage of products and services. Stocks in supermarket and grocery shelves are gradually dwindling. Critical services such as health services have not been spared and workers face a daily struggle in commuting between workplace and home. Freight hauliers have been severely constricted and more disaster looms if the status quo remains unchecked. All these are visible signs of economic regression which, if not checked immediately, could result in a total breakdown.

Reasons provided by the current administration regarding the causes to the fuel shortage have been unsatisfactory and at times embarrassingly derisive. There has been a clear divide and at times contradiction in reasons provided by the Petroleum Importers Limited, the Ministry responsible and the Leadership. However most people will agree that the current leadership and its administration has not demonstrated to the nation the ability to  reverse the dismal situation any time soon and the resultant sense of uncertainty merely serves to intensify the sense of  doom and gloom afflicting the nation.

Electricity Shortages

Never has Malawi suffered more from acute electricity shortages in all its 47 years of independence than within the past 2 years despite the fact that, after all these years, only 6% of the population had access to electricity.

The recent announcement by ESCOM that power cuts will be implemented for 8 hours everyday for the rest of the year have only increased the sense of despair amongst the people who cannot lead normal daily lives without fear of blackouts.

Industries are hard hit with insufficient power to enable optimal production of vital products which may even substitute imports. Work-flow is constantly interrupted by equipment switching off intermittently. Huge costs are incurred in repairing equipment that have been damaged by power fluctuations and the cost of installing massive generators in an effort to keep going. Indeed, a classic example is the failure of ESCOM to guarantee supply of adequate power to Paladin for processing uranium at Kayelekera thereby necessitating installation of massive diesel generators, which need 3000 litres per day to ensure production – this meant that ESCOM lost out on potential extra business of millions of Kwacha every month due to its own inefficiency and incapacity to be innovative.

It is apparent to most that the current leadership and administration has not demonstrated to the nation that they can reverse the situation any time soon in spite of the need for tangible solutions. There should be a clear time frame as to when the problem will be over. As it remains, the energy drain remains a pain without any solution in sight.

Lack of Economic Prudence

The current leadership and administration has continued to excessively and irresponsibly squander public funds without consultation and with cavalier disregard for current economic hardships afflicting the populace created by the mismanagement.

The list of anomalies lengthy, but some major issues include the following:-

·        In 2010, the President secretly authorised the purchase of a private jet costing US$13 million - equivalent to half the budgetary support that Malawi's major donor contributed. The purchase went on regardless of condemnation from different stakeholders within Malawi and beyond. The amount spent was equivalent to annual salaries of approximately 5,000 nurses or approximately 11,555 primary school teachers. The infamous Presidential Jet remains a sore point since it appears to have no place in an impoverished country like Malawi which must cater to other priorities such as combating poverty and illiteracy before succumbing to consumerist luxuries..

·       Since the first Cabinet of 29 Ministers in 2004, the size of the current Cabinet has grown to 41, leading to a monthly wage bill of over MK15,000,000.00, which would fund monthly salaries of 428 nurses or 1,000 primary school teachers. It is important to note that this Cabinet of 41 also includes Deputy Minsters who, in most cases, have been awarded the position as a reward for political favours and not on merit. Thus these Deputy Ministerial positions could easily be vacated without any loss in efficacy;

·       At the beginning of 2011, the President secretly awarded a contract to his wife, the First Lady, Callista Mutharika, leading to a payment in arrears, of MK6,400 400 for the period before the contract was signed, and subsequent salary of MK1,300,000 per month – ostensibly for doing charity work. The contract coincidentally expires at the expiry of term of office of President in 2014 and was pushed through despite condemnation from various sectors of society. The First Lady's salary is equivalent to monthly salaries for 30 nurses or 93 primary school teachers.

·       The contract for the construction and management of the (in)famous Nsanje Inland Port was awarded in a non transparent and dubious manner to Mota Engil, a foreign construction company who appears to enjoy presidential favour. The same company is rumoured to have built a palace at Ndata Farm (the President’s personal estate) and has now won a concession for oil and gas drilling in the Lake.

Regardless of the above manifestations of economic imprudence, Government shamelessly offered lame justifications to exonerate themselves whilst indulging personal avarice without due regard for public responsibility.

Corruption and Abuse of Power

There are strong suspicions that this leadership and administration is condoning corruption and abuse of power by a 'favoured few'.

Recently, the Malawi Housing Corporation sold houses to selected staff, Cabinet Ministers, and DPP officials at grossly reduced prices, leading to a net loss of over MK100 million. The leadership and administration remain quiet and the Anti Corruption Bureau appears unable to investigate further thereby giving rise to fears of officialdom turning a blind eye to such misdemeanours.

During his 2 terms of office, the current President appears to have amassed significant wealth that does not tally with his salary of approximately MK 2,000,000 per month. Within 3 years of being power in 2007, Mutharika purchased land in Thyolo at an alleged price of MK 70 million. He then proceeded to develop part of the land at an exorbitant cost which requires clear explanation to allay suspicion.

Massive corruption appears to be the order of the day. Malawians witness a few individuals in Government who have amassed massive wealth at public expense. These individuals build expensive houses, owning fleets of cars and indulge openly in displays of fabulous opulence that seems to have accrued without a visible source. The Government may be aware of this but no visible steps are being taken to stop such malpractices or to recover wealth gleaned in such dishonest manner.

Disrespect of the Rule of Law

The current leadership and administration has tended to exhibit deliberate disregard of the Constitution and the rule of law.

Amid public condemnation, the current leadership and administration abused its majority in Parliament to pass an amendment to Section 46 of the Penal Code allowing the Minister for Information to ban publications 'deemed to be contrary to the public interest'. This law has taken Malawi backwards in terms of guaranteeing media freedoms contained under chapter VI of the Constitution.

Again, amid widespread public condemnation, the current leadership and administration has abused its majority in Parliament to pass the Civil Procedure (Suits By Or Against The Government or Public Officers) (Amendment) Bill, 2010 otherwise popularly known as the infamous 'Injunctions Bill', which denies supplicants the right to instant relief when their rights are under threat by any Government agency or officer. The President recently assented to the bill notwithstanding massive public outcry, condemnation, a revolt amongst DPP MPs in Parliament and a court injunction against the assent of the bill

Apart from the bills cited above, the Government passed the Police Act which empowers the Police to search any house without a search warrant, the Pensions Bill, the Local Courts Bill (previously known as the infamous Traditional Courts), a Constitutional amendment on timing and methodology of Local Government Elections, and the Protected Names, Flags and Emblems bill which changed the national flag at huge cost whilst dismissing widespread protest as drunken ravings.

Local Government Elections

It goes without saying that the current leadership and administration is simply not interested in conducting Local Government elections.

Since election into power, there have been deliberate efforts to avoid or interrupt the holding of local Government elections in Malawi. Recently the Electoral Commission was closed (with a questionable abuse of power) on allegations of massive fraud involving huge sums of money. The Government consequently reopened the Commission without any official explanation on the outcome of their initial investigations. The administration is now attempting to amend the law to allow for local Government elections to be held after the expiry of their term of office thereby giving rise to profound suspicion that something is being covered up.

In addition, new appointments will soon be made to the Commission and these are already raising alarm signals due to the candidates being considered and the opacity of the process. The neutrality and very integrity of the Commission may be compromised irrevocably in the public eye if the matter is not handled with extreme transparency.

In any case, it is quite obvious that the current administration will not hold local Government elections these 2 terms of office, despite any constitutional requirements to the contrary.

The University of Malawi Crisis

The current leadership and administration has failed to resolve the current stalemate between the University Council and its 2 constituent colleges (Chancellor College and Polytechnic) despite all the effort and posturing.

For over 100 days, the leadership and its administration has remained adamant in refusing to recognise legitimate demands by the academic staff unions from the 2 constituent colleges, leading to an unnecessary standoff. This has cost students valuable learning time and disrupted the general academic calendar.

This can easily be described as the worst crisis in the history of the University of Malawi, but it has evolved as such largely due to the intransigence and truculence of the Establishment which takes its lead from the Head of State in adopting inflexible stances that militate against all effort at conciliation.

Political Intolerance and Violence

The current leadership and administration appears of late to be leaning towards tactics that promote violence and intolerance against critics and those with differing views:

·       During the 2 terms of office, the President has deliberately demonised his Vice Presidents, thereby deliberately weakening their offices which are enshrined in the Constitution. The failure to work with Vice Presidents has seriously disrupted the role of the Office of the Vice President in the performance of governmental duties;

·       In recent times, the President has deliberately crippled the office of the Vice President based on personal grudges and differing views. This year, the budget of the Office of the Vice President was significantly reduced to a pittance. The President continues to castigate the Vice President in public rallies, calling her names whilst she continues to hold her peace.

This issue appears to emanate from the thorny question of succession – i.e. who will take the office if the President is incapacitated? The Constitution gives that role to the Vice President and this apparently is the root of the problem because the President wishes to choose his own successor and is unable to do so whilst the Vice President is in place.

·       This year, the President instructed the ruling DPP party youth cadets to 'protect him' as a response to widespread criticism on his governance style. The instruction was followed by the DPP leaders publicly stating that they will use 'all possible means' to protect their leader. Since that instruction, some Civil Society leaders who have previously spoken on various issues have been attacked or received threats, leading to general fear and terror. Experts have cautioned that such public remarks by leaders have potential to lead to violence or conflict thereby creating a 'culture of fear' that is becoming more visible by the day.

·       There are many indications that the current leadership does not accept any criticism or dissenting views. Those who have dissenting views, within the ruling party or generally, are destined to face violence or adversity in one way or another. This has led to fear among institutional heads or ruling party officials which prevents them from offering alternative views that may run contrary to the Party line.

·       Following a leaked cable in which the British High Commissioner confidentially described challenges facing Malawi for the Foreign Office in London, the President took the unprecedented step of deporting the British Envoy from Malawi back to the UK. This contributed to the deportation of the Malawi envoy from the UK and subsequent withdrawal of the British contribution to the Malawi budget (30%). This serves a vivid testimony of the sheer arrogance of our leadership who can throw out a relationship that has nurtured and supported Malawi for nearly 50 years at the drop of a hat – regardless of the cost to the Nation in general and the poorest sectors of society in particular.

·       When civil society were organising a 'bicycle march' demonstration regarding fuel crises facing the country, the current leadership and administration threatened to prevent the planned demonstration. To obstruct Malawi citizens from exercising their rights to demonstrate, the leadership attempted to introduce prohibitive monetary deposits as a requirement prior to holding mass demonstrations. During the current mass demonstration, there are already reports of the leadership threatening to disrupt the mass action by mobilising rabble rousers to disturb the march.

Recommendations

In summary, we conclude that the current leadership and administration has failed to convince us that the issues raised will be resolved or reversed anytime soon. As such, we would only be convinced otherwise when concrete and actionable solutions with short term time frames and deadlines are proposed.

In light of the raised selected issues, we demand the Government to take the following steps:

·       Sell the Presidential jet and minimise all foreign trips by the Head of State;

·       Ban all importation of luxury cars (M/benz, Limousines and Luxurious 4x4s). Any new cars for the President, Ministers or State Officials must reflect our impoverished state and should thus not be as ostentatious as in the past;

·       All foreign trips by Ministers and State officials must be severely curtailed forthwith;

·       Superfluous costs such as the new 'eavesdropping' machine being installed at a cost of US$6 million at MACRA merely to assuage creeping paranoia in an unconstitutional manner must be discontinued and reversed forthwith;

·       Zimbabwe must immediately repay the US$20 million that has long been outstanding for food supplied by Malawi. The payment can be made in cash or in fuel;

·       Scrutinise all fertiliser imports for the previous year to track the fairness of the pricing – all those who have inflated their costings must be brought to book and penalised for the full amount of overpricing as well as harsh penalties for committing the crime.

·       Scrutinise all fuel imports for overpricing practices and bring the perpetrators to book. All forex gained through such malpractices must be returned to Malawi immediately;

·       Massive fuel importers such as Paladin (usage: 3,000 litres diesel per day) must use their own forex reserves to bring in their fuel and should not drain Malawi's scarce reserves;

·       Allow independent importation of fuel by any entrepreneur who has the means – this will break the stranglehold monopoly of PIL and open the market for free competition;

·       Paladin's exports of 'yellow cake' must be checked to ensure that a fair market price is being charged and the proceeds are being brought back to Malawi without any transfer pricing;

·       Gemstone exports must be monitored closely by trained experts to ensure that fair values are being declared. Malawi may have been short changed for decades in this area due to lack of capacity and negligence;

·       It may be necessary, in the short term, to listen to the IMF and devalue our currency in order to gain their approval which would then open the doors for other Donors to come in and pump much needed forex into our flagging economy. The inflationary aspects of this can be countered by other anti inflationary measures.

·       It is essential to immediately mend fences with our long term development partners, the British Government by apologising for the diplomatic faux pas and making amends. Their contribution to our economy is too significant to shrug off with cavalier disdain – especially when it means that the poorest sections of society will be worst afflicted by the suspension of British aid.

·       The bloated Cabinet must be trimmed to 14 members and their fuel and air time allowances adjusted to reasonable levels with immediate effect;

·       The newly approved MK 1 million monthly allowance for each Member of Parliament must be revised downwards to a reasonable level with immediate effect;

Time frame

We hereby propose that:

1.          Within 1 month; adopt measures and actions so that there is availability of and access to forex.

2.          Within 1 month; adopt special measures to avail adequate forex to Petroleum Importers Limited and other suppliers so that they are able to import fuel without interruption.

3.          Within 1 month; the ESCOM board and top management should be replaced with independent experts who, within 3 months, must demonstrate that the acute electricity shortages have begun to reverse.

In addition, form a consultative forum which solicits input from all stakeholders who may have valuable information, ideas and new concepts with which to tackle the issues of capacity and cost of power generation;

4.          Within 1 month, The Anti corruption Bureau should commence an investigation of all people implicated in the recent Malawi Housing house sale scandal.

5.          The Anti Corruption Bureau should start investigating ALL Cabinet Ministers and public servants on the unexplained wealth that some seem to have accumulated whilst holding office. The Penal Code calls upon all citizens to explain the source of their wealth, all moneys stolen should be returned.

6.          Within 1 month; The President should fully declare his assets, explaining sources of funds to acquire and develop Ndatha farm.

7.          Within 1 month; The First Lady's contract should be nullified and all earnings refunded back to Government.

8.          Within 1 month; Law Commission should set up a special law commission to revisit the Penal Code and the Injunctions Bill, which should lead to submission of recommendations within 3 months.

9.          Within 1 month; The President should demonstrate good faith towards the Office of the Vice President, starting by returning her official motorcade.

10.       The Government should commit to hold Local Government Elections by end of this year.

11.       The University Council should immediately reinstate the four lecturers dismissed during the academic freedom stalemate, and issue a statement committing that no spies will be allowed in lecture rooms.

12.       Within 1 month; The deported British High Commissioner should return to resume his duties in Malawi.

13.       Within 1 month; Issue a circular nullifying the instruction to require a deposit of MK 2, 000,000 for mass demonstrations.

Failure to meet any of these demands will further support our stand that the current leadership and administration cannot govern this country in an equitable and democratic manner and that our fear of regressing into an autocratic kleptocracy is valid. We hope to be proven wrong and pray for a transformation that will set the ship of Malawi onto its rightful course for the benefit and wellbeing of all Malawians.

A Better Malawi is Possible!!

Viva Democracy Viva!!!

20^th July 2011