Fistula leaves women discriminated

Women gather at Zomba Central Hospital in Southern Malawi in hundreds. It is not a social gathering, though one condition renders them peers and leaves them united.
Welcome to the Sexual Reproductive Health Ward at the referral public health institution for people from Zomba, Machinga, Mangochi, Balaka and Thyolo districts; common here, among these sad but hopeful women, is a condition termed 'Fistula'.
Fistula is a condition that arises in women who may have delayed to go to the hospital when time for labour approached, or those who delivered children when they thought they were strong mentally, but their bodies were too tender for such an orduous task.
Their condition makes them one because they all suffer from one societal vice: stigma and discrimination.
Mercy Chunda remembers the time she lived as a happily married woman in Machinga, and enjoyed the support of her husband Jimmy. Now, she is an outcast because of her condition, which makes her loose hold of her urinal muscles.
The end result is uncontrolled leakage of urine. This condition sees no place or status in society, and comes with some heavy smell that prompts people to shun those in this situation.
"I, and the other women in this room, are discriminated against because of the smell arising from our condition. The most painful moment in my life was when my husband told me he no longer wanted me; he said I smelt like pigs. Since then, I have been stuck at this place, hoping for a better tomorrow and reunion with my husband," said Chunda.
As it is, she still loves him.
"A lot".
Juliana Lunguzi, a reproductive health officer at UNFPA-Malawi, feels for the women, and hopes for a day society will stop frawning and discriminating women caught on the wrong side of sexual reproductive health.
"It is a sad situation but the good thing is that we are trying. UNFPA is helping these women buy making sure that they get operated on. A lot needs to be done to avert the situation," said Lunguzi.
Zomba Central Hospital Clinical Officer, Edwin Gondwe, said the institution operates on four patients each week, something that initiates the return of four women back home weeekly.
How about the rest?
"We are doing all we can to make sure that we aperate on all of them, as they come. The problem is often that resources do not permit us," said Gondwe.
He asked society to treat the women well, hoping, like Lunguzi, that ten years from now, Fistula will be history- like the urine that came uncontrolled, but stopped at the stroke of a knife for those cured from the condition.

Life...

Lives in Malawi,
Yes, life is a lawi,
It matures with strong winds,
Like the winds you get in Mangochi,
Salima,
Monkeybay,
Nkhotakota.
And all others who know Mwera mphepo.

Life lives in the winds,
And speaks through the trees,
Sings in the Savanna grass,
And mourns with the dead.
Life means fish,
The great Trapia Fish,
Get a taste please.

No, life is Richard Chirombo,
It lives in Richard Chirombo,
It is Richard Chirombo,
I mean his soul,
Not Chirombo.
Harmless Rombo.

Just crazy,
About life's brade,
Always lazy,
Crazy,
Hazy.
It's a chase, life,
Nothing More,
Like Chess,
No less,
Like love.

Life is..

Malawians condom shy, only 50% condomise

Condom use in Malawi remains well below the levels needed to halt the spread of HIV and AIDS, but government officials hope the trend could change quickly, now that religious leaders seem to have softened up on their decision against general condom use.
Malawi is one of the Southern African Development Community member states with a high HIV prevalence rate, though government efforts have helped stabilise the situation to 12 per cent national prevalence rate.
National AIDS Commission (Nac) Executive Director, Biziwick Mwale, said the trend was worrisome because HIV and AIDS service organisations were doing a commendable job in sensitising communities.
"The most worrying factor is that condom use seems to be low in long term partnerships and marriages. Condom use is just over the 50 per cent mark, but has never reached 55 per cent,' said Mwale.
The sub-Saharan country distributes 20 million male condoms against 200, 000 female condoms. Only half of these are sold and used.
Female Condom activists hope that increased awareness about FCs could help reverse the situation.

Malawi In Briefs

1. Humphreys Mvula has case to answer
2. Chikumbutso Mtumodzi booted out of State House
3. Pirate radio owner freed
4.Northern region ministers asked to resign following president Bingu wa Mutharika's endorsement of quota system
5. Ministry disowns mature students
6. Malawi, Ivory Coast game pirated
7. Pharaohs invite Flames for friendly

Genius radio owner freed

The Primary School dropout who established a community radio station using two used transistors in Mulanje district is now free.
This follows efforts from community members, who felt that they benefitted from 21 year-old Gabriel Kondesi’s ingenuity.
The villagers raised K14, 000 to free the boy while his father sold part of his property to prevent the boy from spending time in jail.
“I think people got so much used to my radio because I started broadcasting some three years ago,” said Kondesi.
He was surrounded by proud villagers.
More good news was also coming for the boy. Zodiac Broadcasting Station’s (ZBS) Managing Director, Gospel Kazako, travelled all the way from Blantyre to Mulanje with the intention of freeing the boy. ZBS is one of Malawi’s leading private radio stations.
Kondesi had initially failed to pay the K50, 000 fine Mulanje Second Grade Magistrate Lameck Mkwapatira handed him last Friday.
Kondesi said the thought of going to jail for his creativity scared him.
Kazako said: “As broadcasters, we need to support fellow broadcasters whenever they are in trouble. I don’t actually understand when courts should grant suspended sentences but, as a radio man, I am here to appreciate that this boy is a genius,” said Kazako.
Kazako gave the boy’s father money to recover the things he had sold.
“We could not raise the money so we sold our TV, a DVD Player and four bags of cement tom raise the money. I also got some money from my friends, money I will repay.
The Standard 7 dropout was arrested on October 14, 2009 for operating a radio station called Pachikweza with a Malawi Communications Authority license.
He comes from Soza Village in the area of Traditional Authority Njema in Mulanje district.

Malawi in brief

1.Pirate radio owner arrested inMulanje
2.Morgan Tembo retires
3.Malawi ranked 5th on food security by Action Aid International
4.Mzimba Pupils damage K1 property
5.Activists,media barred at Sanjika during the signing of SADC Gender Protocol. Those barred included the Chief Exucutive Officer Blantyre City, Lycester Bandawe
6.Congolese depotees wantMalawi's immigration boss jailed
7. Vice President Joyce Banda to get two international awards. Reasons: herleadership skills and involvement inwomen work
8. Forex shortage sends prices skyrocketing
9. Business Consult Africa honours top business models
10.ADMARK closes maize markets
11. Mozambique polls affect trade with Malawi
12.Govt. tell SMEs to think export. Eunice Kazembe,Industry and Trade Minister advised.
13.Solomonic leaves for Zimbabwe. Solomonic is one of Malawi's English drama groups.
14.Under-17 starts oversees preps. They are in the UK where they played Second Division side Wycombe Wanderers yesterday.
15 Eagle Sisters boycottmatch against rivals Civonets.It was in the Standard Bank Netball Trophy in Lilongwe
16. Flames back to business. Local players regrouped onMonday to start preps for Cosafa Challenge Cup currently underway in Zimbabwe
17.Ngwira continues scoring. He scored in Malawi vesus Ivory Coast game
18. Malawi's senior players lack exposure
19. 16 qualify for Lab finals
20.Red Lions Football club assaults civilians. Red Lions is a Malawi Defence Force team that plays in the Super League. They often beat civilians up to show superiority.
21.Netball star Mwai fined. The Blantyre and Districts Netball League has slapped Escom sisters shooter Mwai Kumwenda with one match ban and K5000 fine for beating up an opponent three months ago. Mwai has forthe past two months won two top world netball awards. She won player of the tournament in the Cooks Islands and this month won Player of the Tournament Accolade in UK. Teams like New Zealand,Samoa,Jamaica, England, Australia and Malawi were there. She is currently being courted by New Zealand and Australian netball clubs.

Grade Seven drop out operates illegal community radio

A 21 year old, Standard (Grade) One school drop out, Gabriel Kondesi, has been operating a community radio station using a set of three small transistor radios to penetrate the airwaves.
He has been operating the radio station from the Southern Malawi district of Mulanje at the frequency of 98.5 FM.
However, the boy has been sent to jail for his sins because the radio station was not registered by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra), the body responsible for allocating frequencies in Malawi.
Mulanje Second Grade Magistrate, Aristotle Lameck Mkwapatira last Friday slapped Kondesi with a K50,000 (200 Euros) fine, in default, 10 months Imprisonment with Hard Labour for the offense.
Kondesi has failed to pay the fine, saying he could not afford as he was just a poor “villager”, and has since been sent to jail.
Mulanje Police Public Relations Officer, Rafael Makondetsa, said Kondesi hails from Soza village, in the areas of Traditional Authority Njema, Mulanje.
“Kondesi was arrested on October 10, 2009 after it was found that he operated a radio station called Pachikweza without a (Macra) license at Soza village in the district,” said Makondetsa.
Malawi’s Communications Act provides for a maximum K300, 000 (1,500 Euros) for such a fine.
“The boy was using batteries as a source of energy for operating the radio. But he did not have a fully-fledged studio for broadcasting. As a result, he was only airing phone in programmes,” said Makondetsa.

Mum: how are you?

As the birds sing hymns in the sky,
And the day dawn breaks forth,
She lies quet,
But peacefully, anyway
Under the red Dedza district soils,
Cast out,
And forgotten.
Shame on me.

How could they do that to my own mum?
Covering her with red dust,
Six feet from where I stand now,
Or at lunch sit?
Why throe her away,
From her own bedroom?
Why make anemies:
Of her and her matress?

All along,
Since 1962,
They were pals:
Her and her matress,
And her bed,
And her garden,
Not forgetting faithful dog Bruno,
And her soul.

Why throw her away now,
That sickness has reduced her to bone,
And nothing more to you?
She is my mum,
And Madalitso,and Donnartas.
Ye, even Prisca's.
You can't do this to my mum,
Marculatta, Rest in Peace.

Why, Mr. Village headman,
Authorise that they bury my mum,
Before there I am?
Why do that to me,
At that tender age.
I was Thirteen,
Thirteen without a mum becomes no teen,
But nothing.

Why take her away now,
That I should not see her,
Fifteen years from now.
Don't get me wrong here,
Thinking this is 2009,
It is, to me, 1993,
And the moon is June.
The Twenty-first of June.

So they did,
Take my mum away,
And father Leviano Simon cried,
Like us, his wife denied him.
Life was touch,
Without het soft touch,
And sometimes timely slap.

So how do doing mum,
Beyond the blue less sky,
Here, the way we do,
Is no better than you.
They had Mothers' day on October 15,
And I have none,
Oh, I remember, the tears are mine,
In place of my mum.

See you again, mum
Less than eighty years from now,
Our souls to hug,
And tears to collide.
The flies still cry,
For their motherful young,
Forgetting we have none.

Let me report mum,
Five years from then,
Our papa also fled,
Towards the Masanoland,
Where rest the dead,
When the soul,
Takes a frightful flight,
Some say souls cling to umbrellas.
But mine will not.

Bingu for women empowernment

Malawi's president, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, has reiterated his commitment towards women empowerment.
Dr. Mutharika said yesterday he wanted Malawian women to rise above the negative stereotype fray and stamd up for their rights.
"My door is always open. That is why I am very happy today to sign the 50/50 protocol on women empowernment.You are free to come and discuss women issues with me, and this extends to SADC wome," said Mutharika.
He is the first Malawian president to appoint a woman for presidential running mate.Joyce Banda becomes the third woman vice head of state in the SADC region.
This has only happened in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

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Malawi starts preps for Angola

Malawi has started preparations for Angola 2010, following Guinea’s 2-1 loss to Burkina Faso on Sunday.
The loss gives Malawi a life line in a group where Ivory Coast have already qualified for the World Cup to be held next year in South Africa, followed by Burkina Faso with nine points. Malawi has four points while Guinea remain stuck at three points, their campaign now facing the black clouds because they will have to play their last match against Ivory Coast away from home.
Malawi go to Burkina Faso on November 10, and are confident that they will qualify.
“We have already started preparing for Angola 2010. There is no way Ivory Coast can loose at home. We are cock sure of our qualification,” said Football Association of Malawi Chief Executive Officer Charles Nyirenda.
Nyirenda said Fam has already started mobilizing resources in preparation for Angola.
But Fam’s sentiments have drawn fire from national team coach, Kinnah Phiri, who feels the country’s soccer authorities are being carried away with Guinea’s misfortune.
“It’s very unfortunate that Fam is being carried away with the win, thinking Ivory Coast will do the job for us. We must prepare well for the Burkina Faso game and see where we go from there. As it is, it is too early to start preparing for Angola,” said Phiri.
Malawi go to Burkina Faso without two of its top notch players, captain Peter Mponda and defender James Sangala. The two accumulated two yellow cards, ruling themselves out of a game Phiri takes for a decider.
There is solace, however, as injured defenders Elvis Kafoteka and Moses Chavula, and suspended midfielder Hellings Mwakasungula come back to pitch action. The three missed the game against Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast had to come from behind and redeem their reputation as Africa’s leading side. They needed a point to qualify for a World Cup slot, and one point they got.

Malawi against EPAs

Malawi has stumped its foot down against signing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) being engineered by the European Union, describing them as a perpetuation of the EU’s divide-and-rule tactics.
Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika vowed on Wednesday the country “will not sign the EPAs, even if it means being the only African country that will not sign”, because the new instrument stood to make Africa worse than it is now.
“These are the tactics of the West; these countries have never supported African solidarity and are reverting to their old tactics of divide and rule. These people were not happy with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) agreement and now want to divide us,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika said, now that the EU had started signing specific packages with some African countries, who also happen to belong to such regional groups as Ecowas, Comesa, SADC; a development he said would kill regional integration and African unity.
“I have asked them to give me one single benefit Malawi and Africa stands to benefit from the EPAs and they can’t give me one. I warn Africa to be careful,” he said.
He feared that EPAs would kill Africa’s growing economy,. And help spur new levels of poverty in a continent still struggling to improve the social-economic status of its people.

Mutharika demands accountability in sports funding

President Bingu wa Mutharika has bemoaned the level of accountability in sports, saying officials hardly accounted for resources channeled to them.
Mutharika, responding to concerns over poor funding to sports associations, said his government was committed to promoting sports in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state, but only after assurances all resources would be accounted for.
“At the moment, I think investing in sports is tantamount to investing in a bottomless pit or basin. Officials seem to think that state funding is a gift that should not be accounted for and, as a result, we find that some of the things earmarked for funding are not done,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika, who invites the netball and football national teams when they perform beyond people’s expectations, is an avid follower of netball and soccer.
He often says he supports netball because he likes winners and football because he is long-time friend to the president of Brazil.
“Gone is the time people pocketed money meant for sports development. We are in an era of accountability and transparency. I will arrest those who fail to account for tax payers’ money,” he said.

Netball on the rise

Malawi has managed to beat prophets of doom who predicted dwindling fortunes for netball, thanks to good player-succession plans.
Just some two years ago, many feared that netball was on its death bed as many of Malawi’s top notch netball players near retirement.
The instrumental Mary Waya, probably the world’s fattest netball player, has a reputation running across the continents. Captain Peace Chawinga-Kalua, too, has had an industrious career spanning over two decades.
The two have been the heart beat of the Malawi National Netball team but now faces prospects of retirement as age catches up with them.
The print media has been awash with debate over whether the old guard should retire now, but national coach Edith Kaliati has turned such a suggestion down- opting to blend old and new blood.
The move seems to be bearing immediate fruits following Malawi’s growing dominance in netball.
Teenager Mwai Kumwenda, for instance, hardly existed in the minds and hopes of Malawian netball fans some four years ago. Now, the Escom Netball Team player has become a house hold name, even leaving a mark on the international netball scene.
She scored the most baskets in the World Under-17 Netball Tournament held last month in Cooks Islands. Within two weeks of that record, Kumwenda accompanied Malawi to South Africa, and took part in the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations (Cosana) tournament.
She blended well with goal shooter Waya to make South Africa look like ordinary amateurs. Malawi retained the Cosana tournament and proceeded to Tanzania where they took part in a Six Nation Invitational Tournament.
The Queens, again, carried the day but did not have time to receive the trophy as they were rushing to the United Kingdom to take part in a competition pitting the world’s top six netball teams.
The Queens braved managed to move up from position six in world netball rankings to 5. The encouraging part was that the team managed to reduce the number of baskets conceded from such giants as England, New Zealand, and Jamaica to within five baskets difference on average. Teams like Samoa were easy folder for the marauding Queens.
The Queens came back home on Tuesday this week, and Kaliati is buoyed by the players’ performance.
“Contrary to fears that we were on the down ward spiral, we are moving from better to best. There is good coordination in the team, and our blending process (mixing the old guard with up-coming players) seems to be working wonders. South Africa can attest to that. In fact, we consider the South African Senior Netball Team as our Team B or concubines,” said Kaliati.
Sports Development Minister, Dr. Luscious Kanyumba, is also thrilled with the new events brewing in netball cycles.
“Netball is one sport that makes us proud. As you know, we have been struggling in soccer- though we now are coming back to where we were in the 1970s. We could beat the likes of Ivory Coast by five-goals-to-one then,” said Kanyumba.
Ivory Coast’s worst defeat (in soccer) came at the hands of Malawi when they went down 5-1.
Kanyumba said government was committed to supporting netball, a sentiment echoed by state president Bingu wa Mutharika.
Mutharika has vowed to increase state funding to all sporting disciplines.
“Let’s spread our net wider and success will come. Netball, especially, has given us the hope that we can do better. It’s not only soccer that matters, netball and other sports disciplines are crucial to success, too,” said Mutharika.

Today in Malawi

Malawi against EPAs
Malawi has stumped its foot down against signing Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) being engineered by the European Union, describing them as a perpetuation of the EU’s divide-and-rule tactics.
Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika vowed on Wednesday the country “will not sign the EPAs, even if it means being the only African country that will not sign”, because the new instrument stood to make Africa worse than it is now.
“These are the tactics of the West; these countries have never supported African solidarity and are reverting to their old tactics of divide and rule. These people were not happy with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) agreement and now want to divide us,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika said, now that the EU had started signing specific packages with some African countries, who also happen to belong to such regional groups as Ecowas, Comesa, SADC; a development he said would kill regional integration and African unity.
“I have asked them to give me one single benefit Malawi and Africa stands to benefit from the EPAs and they can’t give me one. I warn Africa to be careful,” he said.
He feared that EPAs would kill Africa’s growing economy,. And help spur new levels of poverty in a continent still struggling to improve the social-economic status of its people.

Malawi starts preps for Angola
Malawi has started preparations for Angola 2010, following Guinea’s 2-1 loss to Burkina Faso on Sunday.
The loss gives Malawi a life line in a group where Ivory Coast have already qualified for the World Cup to be held next year in South Africa, followed by Burkina Faso with nine points. Malawi has four points while Guinea remain stuck at three points, their campaign now facing the black clouds because they will have to play their last match against Ivory Coast away from home.
Malawi go to Burkina Faso on November 10, and are confident that they will qualify.
“We have already started preparing for Angola 2010. There is no way Ivory Coast can loose at home. We are cock sure of our qualification,” said Football Association of Malawi Chief Executive Officer Charles Nyirenda.
Nyirenda said Fam has already started mobilizing resources in preparation for Angola.
But Fam’s sentiments have drawn fire from national team coach, Kinnah Phiri, who feels the country’s soccer authorities are being carried away with Guinea’s misfortune.
“It’s very unfortunate that Fam is being carried away with the win, thinking Ivory Coast will do the job for us. We must prepare well for the Burkina Faso game and see where we go from there. As it is, it is too early to start preparing for Angola,” said Phiri.
Malawi go to Burkina Faso without two of its top notch players, captain Peter Mponda and defender James Sangala. The two accumulated two yellow cards, ruling themselves out of a game Phiri takes for a decider.
There is solace, however, as injured defenders Elvis Kafoteka and Moses Chavula, and suspended midfielder Hellings Mwakasungula come back to pitch action. The three missed the game against Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast had to come from behind and redeem their reputation as Africa’s leading side. They needed a point to qualify for a World Cup slot, and one point they got.

Netball on the rise
Malawi has managed to beat prophets of doom who predicted dwindling fortunes for netball, thanks to good player-succession plans.
Just some two years ago, many feared that netball was on its death bed as many of Malawi’s top notch netball players near retirement.
The instrumental Mary Waya, probably the world’s fattest netball player, has a reputation running across the continents. Captain Peace Chawinga-Kalua, too, has had an industrious career spanning over two decades.
The two have been the heart beat of the Malawi National Netball team but now faces prospects of retirement as age catches up with them.
The print media has been awash with debate over whether the old guard should retire now, but national coach Edith Kaliati has turned such a suggestion down- opting to blend old and new blood.
The move seems to be bearing immediate fruits following Malawi’s growing dominance in netball.
Teenager Mwai Kumwenda, for instance, hardly existed in the minds and hopes of Malawian netball fans some four years ago. Now, the Escom Netball Team player has become a house hold name, even leaving a mark on the international netball scene.
She scored the most baskets in the World Under-17 Netball Tournament held last month in Cooks Islands. Within two weeks of that record, Kumwenda accompanied Malawi to South Africa, and took part in the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations (Cosana) tournament.
She blended well with goal shooter Waya to make South Africa look like ordinary amateurs. Malawi retained the Cosana tournament and proceeded to Tanzania where they took part in a Six Nation Invitational Tournament.
The Queens, again, carried the day but did not have time to receive the trophy as they were rushing to the United Kingdom to take part in a competition pitting the world’s top six netball teams.
The Queens braved managed to move up from position six in world netball rankings to 5. The encouraging part was that the team managed to reduce the number of baskets conceded from such giants as England, New Zealand, and Jamaica to within five baskets difference on average. Teams like Samoa were easy folder for the marauding Queens.
The Queens came back home on Tuesday this week, and Kaliati is buoyed by the players’ performance.
“Contrary to fears that we were on the down ward spiral, we are moving from better to best. There is good coordination in the team, and our blending process (mixing the old guard with up-coming players) seems to be working wonders. South Africa can attest to that. In fact, we consider the South African Senior Netball Team as our Team B or concubines,” said Kaliati.
Sports Development Minister, Dr. Luscious Kanyumba, is also thrilled with the new events brewing in netball cycles.
“Netball is one sport that makes us proud. As you know, we have been struggling in soccer- though we now are coming back to where we were in the 1970s. We could beat the likes of Ivory Coast by five-goals-to-one then,” said Kanyumba.
Ivory Coast’s worst defeat (in soccer) came at the hands of Malawi when they went down 5-1.
Kanyumba said government was committed to supporting netball, a sentiment echoed by state president Bingu wa Mutharika.
Mutharika has vowed to increase state funding to all sporting disciplines.
“Let’s spread our net wider and success will come. Netball, especially, has given us the hope that we can do better. It’s not only soccer that matters, netball and other sports disciplines are crucial to success, too,” said Mutharika.

Mutharika demands accountability in sports funding
President Bingu wa Mutharika has bemoaned the level of accountability in sports, saying officials hardly accounted for resources channeled to them.
Mutharika, responding to concerns over poor funding to sports associations, said his government was committed to promoting sports in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) member state, but only after assurances all resources would be accounted for.
“At the moment, I think investing in sports is tantamount to investing in a bottomless pit or basin. Officials seem to think that state funding is a gift that should not be accounted for and, as a result, we find that some of the things earmarked for funding are not done,” said Mutharika.
Mutharika, who invites the netball and football national teams when they perform beyond people’s expectations, is an avid follower of netball and soccer.
He often says he supports netball because he likes winners and football because he is long-time friend to the president of Brazil.
“Gone is the time people pocketed money meant for sports development. We are in an era of accountability and transparency. I will arrest those who fail to account for tax payers’ money,” he said.

Thanks my Friend in Cairo, Egypt

Where you are,
In Cairo's Egypt,
Or, is it Egypt's Cairo?
No, I mean Africa's Egypt,
Represent us,
Malawi well.

Keep in touch.

Many suffered, and more surely may

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Police Exhibits Political Vindictiveness

The Sunday Times, January 2, 2005
By Chachacha Munthali

The Police recently arrested two prominent UDF Party
Members for allegedly assaulting a Senior Police
Officer in 1999. But five years is a long time and
Chachacha Munthali wonders how ling investigations to
prove the death of Epiphania Bonjesi and Fanikiso
Phiri would take, given it was Police officers who
were involved. It was over six months since a member
of our Reformed Police unerringly took aim and shot
one innocent girl called Epiphania Bonjesi, all in the
name of preserving peace, as if the Girl had anything
to do with the Elections' violence that was the
aftermath of the May 20 Polls.

Again, three years have dragged by since Fanikiso
Phiri, a Chancellor College Student, was brutally
Murdered by the Police in Zomba. To date, those two
Murderers remain Faceless and will descend into their
haunted Graves guilty unpunished and their acts
Celebrated by the Malawi Police Service. Yes those
Murderers can walk tall in town comforted by the
fact that even if "Investigations" were instituted to
Probe those barbaric acts, it will be sheer folly to
anticipate the results and any action so soon. If you
doubt the basis of this case, you might be swayed by
this simple and macabre logic: If it took a Reformed
or Deformed Police Service, if you will, a whole
five-and-a-half years to Probe the assault of
their own Senior Police Officer, how long would it
take to investigate the murder of another statistic in
the everyday wave of violence by their own
extraordinary Sharp-shooters?

You do not require the brain of a Mathematical genius
to conclude that it would take a whole generation. The
story of the assaulted Senior Police Officer and the
subsequent arrests of the suspects reads like a
badly contrived piece of fiction that any writer who
dreamt it up would be lined against a wall and hire
Sharpshooters from the Malawi Police Service to
dispatch that quark to Kingdom come. Here was Tom
Chikombole, now retired, but was then Regional Police
Commissioner for the North was allegedly assaulted by
UDF Deputy Organising Secretary and Former Regional
Governor for the Centre. Maurice Kachimbwinda, Samson
Msosa, erstwhile UDF Deputy Regional Governor for the
South: another man who is on his run and two other men
who are now dead.

This extraordinary assault took place on 17 April
1999. And on 9 December 2004, the inert Police
suddenly remembered that one of their kind had been
handled rather unkindly, exactly 2063 days since the
assault
took place. And they proceeded to arrest Kachimbwinda.
Six days later, Msosa found himself in the cooler as
well for a Crime which I can wager a lifetime Salary,
the gentleman had all but forgotten if he was involved

at all. Now, five other years is a long time and it
comes as no Big Surprise that two Suspects are dead.
And Police Deputy Publicist, Kelvin Maigwa, has the
nerve to tell a bemused Nation that Police have the
right to arrest anyone as long as there is Evidence
and investigations could take a long time.

True, but the case was a simple one, which is my view,
all it needed was the identification of the Culprits.
You do not even need the Specialty of the Scotland
Yard or do some long-winded investigations. No! As a
Nation, we should be ashamed of having a hapless
Police Service that can stare incompetence in the face
and feel proud of it, all in the name of conducting
investigations. Is it any wonder that some people have
been tempted to perceive the arrests as Political
Vindictiveness other
than the pursuance of Justice? The UDF especially
looks at these arrests as calculated Political
Manoeuvres. "This is an incident that happened a long
time ago and Other parties, too, were involved in
similar crimes but they have not been brought to
book," Salule Masangwi, UDF Publicist, was heard
Crooning when the arrests were made.

If the Police acted shrewdly at times, as they ought
to, they would spare themselves the embarrassment and
ridicule that they are most times exposed to. When
somebody someday realises the need to conduct
investigations into brutal killings of Fanikiso and
Epiphania, don't get surprised when you will be
bombarded by Police Propaganda that the guilty
Police Officers are now dead. and therefore, we cannot
proceed with the Case. After all, it is rare to try
the dead man.

=====
MALAWI NEWSWIRE SERVICE



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Epiphania Bonjesi: What did Mzati Mkolokosa say?

Excellent Journalism
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Search for Power
The study of the story and history of power can be illuminating. What is power like and how do politicians use it?

On a warm May Monday afternoon in 2004, former president Bakili Muluzi witnessed the swearing-in of President Bingu wa Mutharika.

Parts of the country were witnessing violence in the aftermath of the elections because some people who considered themselves in majority, led by some members of the clergy, wanted Gwanda Chakuamba to win. Thus the victory of Mutharika was bad news, especially in Blantyre where a trigger-happy Police Mobile Service man killed a 10-year-old girl, Epiphania Bonjesi. The country was divided. It needed a uniting power.

At Chichiri Stadium, Muluzi spoke first. Typical of him, he was overjoyed, telling off opposition leaders to accept results because the clergy prayed to God, asking for a leader, and God answered by providing Mutharika.

Then Muluzi handed over power to Mutharika who, minutes earlier, had taken oath of office, ending with "So help me God."

Just then, a country that had one president, welcomed a President and a living ex-president. First President Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda died in 1997 and left Muluzi without an ex-president.

Even in 1994, Muluzi had an ex-president from a different party, one the UDF and its supporters opposed and pushed out of power.

It was reasonably easy for people, especially government departments, to understand that Kamuzu had lost power and Muluzi was at the State House. This was partly because Kamuzu understood that he was no longer in power; instead, someone else, Muluzi, was in control.

The 2004 case was different. Mutharika had an ex-president who had become his party’s national chairman and it did not take long for trouble to appear.

He handed over power to Mutharika but out of Chichiri Stadium, Muluzi rode with the new Mutharika in the presidential, open Land Rover which for UDF supporters was love: an ex-president taking a new President to State House. But for students of power, it was the ex-president’s failure to appreciate his new status, that his name had attained the prefix "ex".

Weeks later, Muluzi, as national chairperson of the UDF was on a journey to thank people for voting for Mutharika. The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was in a dilemma, whether or not to cover him live. Who was in power?

Power, as was the case in Malawi, can be understood in terms of command and control. "It is either the capacity to make others do as you wish (the command function) or to reorder the environment around you (the control function)," says a scholar of power, Jon Meacham.

Muluzi’s clinging to power showed that he was doing the command type because even after the State House, he wanted to enjoy some visible privileges exclusive to a President.

The command and control concepts of power became extremes. Mutharika was trying to reorder the environment around him (Malawi). There was a difference in the two people’s pursuit of power. Muluzi’s pursuit of power was for domination while Mutharika, it seemed, wanted to use power to make possible a journey towards paradise.

Some thoughts, as a result, became true. Decades ago, Machiavelli wrote: "It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things."

It was difficult for Muluzi to carry out or initiate a new order of things after taking over from Kamuzu because such work requires leadership lessons which, it now appears in retrospect, Muluzi did not learn. He replaced the MCP Youth League with UDF’s Young Democrats who beat up people in full presence of a helpless Police.

Mutharika, on his part, attempted to do what Machiavelli called difficult and doubtful: change and initiate a new order of the state of affairs in Malawi.

Constructive evaluation of Mutharika and his DPP must consider the world in which he started his rule and formed his party. The DPP, in the thoughts of Machiavelli, is a party attempting to do what is "more difficult to carry out…more doubtful of success [and] more dangerous to handle", a point analysts miss.

This does not mean Mutharika is perfect. He is a visionary leader, good mostly, but with one strong weakness: he is running an administration without a reverse gear. It is a government that does not look back to reflect on what has gone wrong and take responsibility, a leader whose vocabulary does not contain the word "but" which in the study of power is a reverse gear.

The subsidised fertiliser programme cannot be 100 percent correct. Food security does not mean universal food availability of the staple. Reports show that some houses, and they are in thousands, do not have maize.

Information about hunger and scarcity of maize is everywhere yet this is one thing. It is another for Mutharika to accept reality and be proactive by defining hunger and famine, instead of reacting to shortage reports and refuting starvation.

He is failing to say "but", a reverse gear, to appreciate that the subsidised fertiliser programme and nature’s kindness that brings rains, but accept that some things went wrong somewhere and indeed hunger is biting hard some parts of the country.

Mutharika is yet to work on his communication strategy, which is largely a failure even in the presence of visible success. He fails to construct reality for people to accept.

Still, that May Monday afternoon, when Muluzi and Mutharika spoke at Chichiri Stadium, politician’s use of power for good or worse became visible.

Still remembering Epiphania Bonjesi

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Title U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005 - Malawi
Publisher United States Department of State
Country Malawi
Publication Date 8 March 2006
Cite as United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005 - Malawi , 8 March 2006, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4418218730.html [accessed 9 October 2009]
U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005 - Malawi

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 8, 2006

Malawi is a multiparty democracy with a population of approximately 11.5 million. In May 2004 citizens elected Bingu wa Mutharika of the ruling United Democratic Party (UDF) as president, and the UDF won a majority in the parliament. Constitutional power is shared between the president and the 193 National Assembly members, of whom 187 were elected in 2004. International observers noted substantial shortcomings in the elections, including inequitable access to the state-owned media, the ruling party's use of state resources to campaign, and poor planning and administration by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC). On February 5, President Mutharika resigned from the UDF and on April 14 formed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). On October 18, the National Assembly adopted impeachment procedures, which were under legal review by the court at year's end. On October 20, an impeachment motion was filed against the president for alleged legal violations, including election irregularities, the appointment of the head of the Malawi Police Service without National Assembly approval, and the use of state funds to establish the DPP. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were some instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of government authority.

The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in some areas. HIV/AIDS and severe food shortages affecting as many as four million persons exacerbated these problems. The following human rights problems were reported:

* use of excessive force by police
* mob violence
* harsh and life-threatening prison conditions
* arbitrary arrest and detention
* lengthy pretrial detention
* limits on freedom of speech and press
* limits on freedom of assembly
* societal discrimination and violence against women
* child abuse
* trafficking in persons
* forced child labor
* limits on workers' rights

The government took significant steps to punish human rights abusers and investigate corruption. An inspection of a police station in Karonga by the inspector general of the police led to a one-year imprisonment of two policemen who abused detainees. The Mutharika administration continued an ambitious anticorruption campaign, arresting and indicting several high-ranking officials.Leaders increasingly spoke out against exploitative and hazardous child labor practices. Stiff penalties were issued to child traffickers.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

There were no confirmed reports of politically motivated killings by the government or its agents; however, brutal and unlawful police treatment led to the death of two juveniles.

On June 6, a 12-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of stealing money from a fellow bus passenger died in police custody in Ngabu. The boy's mother claimed that he had been tortured and assaulted by police. The Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) found a strong correlation between police treatment of the boy and the decline in the boy's health culminating in his sudden death. The Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security stated the government condemned the alleged torture. The government promised to conduct an inquiry into the case. A police officer was charged with murder; he was denied bail and awaited trial at year's end. On June 7, police shot and killed a 16-year-old boy at a protest inNgabu (see section 2.b.). The government promised to conduct an investigation of the incident. There was no further development in the case by year's end.

On August 22, police shot and killed a 28-year-old man in Machinga who was cutting trees for firewood. Deputy Police Public Relations Officer Kelvin Maigwa claimed that police officers fired into the air to disperse a crowd of illegal loggers who threw stones at police. An investigation was ongoing at year's end.

There were no developments in the mysterious 2003 death of Kalonga Stambuli, a former private business advisor to the previous president, who died of poisoning and strangulation. Prior to his death, newspaper reports indicated that Stambuli may have had potentially damaging information about the former president's business activities. A police investigation was ongoing at year's end.

There were no developments in the case of Peter Mussa Gama, who died in police custody in 2003. In 2004 the MHRC publicly called for compensation for Gama's family; however, the government had not compensated the family by year's end.

An investigation was conducted in the May 2004 case in which police reportedly killed a 10-year-old girl during a political demonstration (see section 2.b.). A settlement was reached with the family and no charges were filed.

Mobs sometimes resorted to vigilante justice in beating, stoning, or burning suspected criminals. Following the June death of the 12-year-old boy in police custody, protestors chased a group of policemen in Ngabu and severely beat one of the officers. No arrests were made during the year.

On July 4, a mob beat a mentally-ill man to death in Chitipa after he reportedly killed another man with a pounding stick. An investigation was ongoing at year's end.

On November 16, a man was beaten to death in Kasungu by villagers protesting the appointment of a village headman. Eleven people were arrested, but a trial date had not been set by year's end.

There were no developments in the August 2004 case in which a crowd beat a man to death for reportedly burglarizing a home near Blantyre.

A suspect awaited trial at year's end for the August 2004 beating death of a man caught stealing sugar cane near Kasungu.

Police took no action in any of the 2003 cases of mob killings.

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

There were no developments in the 2004 disappearance of Peter Mulamba, a key witness in a high-level corruption case; some reports indicated he committed suicide, while others stated he was out of the country.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The law prohibits such practices; however, there were instances of police beating and abusing detainees, and using excessive force in handling criminal suspects. On June 7, the mother of a 12-year-old boy who died in police custody that month (see section 1.a.) alleged that police officers brutally beat her and two of her children during interrogation. She also claimed that police removed her clothing prior to beating her and refused to allow her to go to the hospital for treatment after the assault.

On June 10, two policemen in Karongawere sentenced to one-year imprisonment with hard labor for assaulting and wounding two detainees. The inspector general of the police ordered the police officers' arrests after discovering an injured inmate during a police station inspection. Police violently dispersed demonstrations during the year, which resulted in numerous injuries and at least one death (see section 2.b.).

While higher-ranking officials demonstrated familiarity with standards for the humane treatment of prisoners and publicly condemned prisoner mistreatment, their subordinates continued to employ unacceptable techniques. Police sometimes mistreated suspects due to a mistaken belief that the law required them to present a case (not just charges) to the court within 48 hours of arrest, and police sometimes resorted to beatings to obtain information within the time limit. Lack of financial resources for appropriate equipment, facilities, and training contributed to mistreatment. The MHRC called for the introduction of a compensation fund to assist victims of police abuse and relatives of persons who died in police custody; however, no such fund had been established by year's end.

Prison and Detention Center Conditions

Prison conditions remained harsh and life threatening. Overcrowding, inadequate nutrition, substandard sanitation, and poor health facilities remained serious problems. The prison system, which was meant to accommodate approximately 7 thousand inmates, held 10,389 prisoners, including approximately 350 juveniles. Inmates complained that they did not receive enough food. Prison inmates were encouraged to grow vegetables and raise livestock. Community service programs were available as alternatives to prison terms. In 2004 an average of 20 inmates died in prison each month, mostly due to HIV/AIDS. There were no available statistics on prison deaths at year's end.

In April2004 the government began a program with international donors to renovate the country's four major prisons. A new prison was under construction, scheduled to open in early 2006 to replace Mzuzu prison and alleviate prison congestion in the north. Some prisons were upgraded to include improved toilet and shower facilities and plumbing.

Although women were not kept in separate facilities, they were segregated within the prison compound and monitored by female guards. In the four maximum-security prisons, there were separate facilities for juveniles; however, the separation was inadequate in practice, and there were reports of sexual and physical abuse of juvenile prisoners. In the other prisons, juveniles were routinely incarcerated with adults. The law requires pretrial detainees to be held separately from convicted prisoners; however, many prisons could not comply with this law due to lack of space and inadequate facilities.

The Inspectorate of Prisons, domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international NGOs were permitted to make visits to monitor prison conditions and to donate basic supplies. The Prison Reform Committee worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Inspectorate of Prisons to visit prisons.

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, although there were problems in practice.

Role of Police and Security Apparatus

The National Police, controlled by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, has responsibility in law and in practice for law enforcement and maintenance of order within the country. The police occasionally called on the army for support. The country's police force was inefficient and poorly trained due to inadequate funding.

Corruption was widespread and impunity was a problem. Police continued efforts to improve investigative skills and to introduce the concept of victims' rights through workshops and other training exercises, particularly in the areas of sexual abuse and domestic violence (see section 5). The government continued to seek community involvement in its comprehensive reform of the police. Civil society groups conducted workshops for the police on crowd control measures and management of demonstrations. The country also received foreign assistance to train officials and procure equipment.

Arrest and Detention

The law provides the accused the right to challenge the legality of detention, have access to legal counsel, and be released on bail or informed of charges by a court of law within 48 hours; however, these rights seldom were respected in practice.

The use of temporary remand warrants to circumvent the 48-hour rule was widespread (see section 1.c.). The government provided legal services to indigent detainees; however, access was often delayed since there were only seven public defenders. Detainees were allowed access to relatives. Bail frequently was granted to reduce prison overcrowding rather than on the merits of an individual's situation. The MHRC received 663 complaints of arbitrary detention; most related to overstay of remand, denial of bail, and unheard appeals.

Police were routinely criticized for failing to act impartially with regard to political demonstrations.

Police arrested some journalists and demonstrators during the year (see sections 2.a and 2.b.). On March 15 President Mutharika ordered the arrest and detention of two journalists and an assistant to the vice president in connection with stories the journalists published about the president (see sections 2.a. and 2.b.). On September 16, police arrested former DPP Vice President Gwanda Chakuamba for criticizing the president (see section 2.a.).

A total of 10,389 persons were incarcerated in the country's prisons, including approximately 350 juveniles and 68 women.Twenty-three percent of the prison population was pretrial detainees.

There were no political detainees during the year.

The Centre for Legal Assistance (CELA) offered free legal assistance to expedite the trials of 200 detainees, with priority given to the sick and young and those subjected to trial delays.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The law provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected this provision in practice. However, the judicial system was inefficient and handicapped by serious weaknesses, including poor record keeping, a shortage of attorneys and trained personnel, heavy caseloads, and lack of resources.

The law provides for a High Court, a Supreme Court of Appeal, and subordinate magistrate courts. The chief justice is appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly. The president appoints other justices, following a recommendation by the Judicial Service Commission. All justices are appointed to serve until the age of 65 and may be removed only for reasons of incompetence or misbehavior, as determined by the president and a majority of the National Assembly.

Trial Procedures

By law, defendants have the right to a public trial but not to a trial by jury; however, in murder cases, the High Court uses a jury of 12 persons from the defendant's home district. Defendants also are entitled to an attorney, the right to present and challenge evidence and witnesses, the right of appeal, and the presumption of innocence.

The judiciary's budgetary and administrative problems effectively denied expeditious trials for most defendants. The Department of Public Prosecutions had eight prosecuting attorneys and four paralegals. The paralegals served as lay prosecutors and prosecuted minor cases in the magistrate courts. Lack of funding and a shortage of attorneys created a backlog, mainly in murder cases.

Political Prisoners

There were no reports of political prisoners.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press; however, at times the government limited this right. There were several cases of intimidation of journalists and government critics through arrests. While none of these cases went to trial, the arrests prompted self-censorship on the part of journalists. Despite tactics used to intimidate journalists, private individuals were generally free to criticize the government without fear of reprisal.

On October 23, the press reported that a man was arrested for making derogatory comments about the president at a gas station in Blantyre. On September 16, police arrested former DPP Vice President Gwanda Chakuamba for statements he made at a political rally after leaving government, in which he allegedly referred to the president as a "brute" and a "drunkard." Chakuamba was charged under the Protected Emblems and Names Act with insulting the president. Capital Radio, which conducted live coverage of the rally, challenged the legality of the act; the case was still pending at year's end.

The independent media was active and expressed a wide variety of views. A broad spectrum of political and ideological opinion was available in the country's newspapers. Ten independent newspapers were available, including two independent dailies, four biweeklies, and four independent weekly papers.

On March 15, journalists Raphael Tenthani and Mabvuto Banda of the independent newspaper The Nation were arrested for allegedly violating the Protected Emblems and Names Act. The journalists had written articles alleging that the president had moved out of his residence for fear that ghosts haunted the building. They were charged with publishing information likely to cause public alarm and were released after 24 hours. The charge was later changed to publishing information likely to insult the president. Although Tenthani and Banda were not prosecuted, the president demanded an apology and a retraction of the story. Neither journalist complied with the demand; there was no court action by year's end.

The government enforced several restriction notices on The Nation, preventing it from publishing antigovernment stories. In October 2004 the police went to The Nation at midnight and ordered it to stop printing an article that included references to a presidential cabinet meeting. The article was published, and The Nation was accused of publishing minutes of a secret cabinet meeting.

There were 15 private radio stations with limited coverage and broadcasting only in urban areas. The state-owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) dominated the radio market with its two stations, transmitting in major population centers throughout the country. Government-owned Television Malawi (TVM) was the sole television broadcaster. News coverage and editorial content of MBC and TVM clearly favored the president and his party, while coverage of other political parties was more critical and received less airtime.

In March 2004 the Public Affairs Committee, a civil society group composed of influential religious leaders, initiated legal action against MBC and TVM, challenging their bias toward the ruling party. These challenges generated renewed public interest in the issue of media freedom. The legal action was not pursued after a change in government two months later.

There were no developments in the 2003 assault of several journalists by police at a roadblock.

On October 20, parliament refused the request of an independent radio station to carry a live broadcast of the National Assembly session, stating that the station was not "adequately professional."

There were no government restrictions on the Internet or academic freedom.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Freedom of Assembly

The law provides for freedom of assembly; however, there were instances in which police limited this right. Authorities at times interfered with opposition party political functions or used violence to disperse crowds.

On March 27, police arrested five UDF politicians for organizing an antigovernment demonstration. They were charged with unlawful assembly, unlawful procession, and conduct likely to cause the breach of peace. The men were released on bail two days later, and the government subsequently dropped the case.

On June 7, police in Ngabu shot and killed a 16-year-old boy while firing live ammunition at unarmed villagers who were protesting the death in police custody of another boy (see section 1.a.). Another person was shot in the leg. A police officer was arrested, and the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, Uladi Mussa, presented a report to the National Assembly on the incident. Opposition leaders described the report as shallow and biased and called for an independent inquiry into the killing. The police officers who were reportedly involved in the incident were transferred to other stations. A trial date had not been set and no independent investigation was conducted at year's end.

On September 16, police arrested former DPP Vice President Gwanda Chakuamba for criticizing the president during a rally in Blantyre (see section 2.a.).

On December 5, a 13-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were injured at a government food distribution center in Nsanje when a guard opened fire on a crowd to prevent them from forcibly entering the premises. The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) condemned the incident and called for further investigation; a police investigation was ongoing at year's end.

On December 13, police shot and injured three men in Bvumbwe, Thoyo while attempting to disperse a mob armed with knives that attacked a man on suspicion that he had kidnapped a child. Police arrested four officers; no further action was taken by year's end.

There were no developments in the February 2004 case in which two persons were shot when police used live ammunition and tear gas to break up an opposition rally. According to police, the gathering, which coincided with a ruling party rally nearby, was illegal because it lacked proper permits. Opposition leaders maintained they had a court injunction allowing the event to take place. The MHRC urged the inspector general of police to launch an investigation into the violence, but no action was taken by year's end.

There were no developments in the May 2004 case in which police allegedly shot 2 protestors and arrested at least 96 others for rioting over the results of the presidential election. Police reportedly used live ammunition and tear gas to stop looting and vandalism immediately following the announcement of the election results. One man was reportedly beaten to death by a group of worshippers when he sought refuge from the tear gas in a nearby mosque (see section 1.a.). The suspects arrested by police were released on bail within 48 hours of arrest and were awaiting trial at year's end.

There were no developments in the May 2004 case in which a police officer attempting to break up a political demonstration reportedly shot 10-year-old Epiphania Bonjesi. Bonjesi, a bystander, bled to death after being shot in the leg. Eyewitness accounts indicated the bullet was fired by police. In an October 2004 settlement, the government paid compensation to the family.

No action was taken against police who used excessive force to disperse demonstrations in 2003.

Freedom of Association

The law provides for freedom of association, and the government generally respected this right in practice. The government required organizations, including political parties, to register with the registrar general in the Ministry of Justice, and registration was routinely granted.

c. Freedom of Religion

The law provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right in practice.

There are no separate requirements for the recognition of religions, but religious groups must register with the government. There were no reports that the government refused to register any religious group during the year.

Foreign Christian missionaries experienced occasional delays in renewing employment permits; however, this appeared to be the result of bureaucratic inefficiency rather than a deliberate government policy. Missionaries and charitable workers paid lower fees for employment permits than did other professionals.

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Churches continued to be a significant source of political influence, particularly in rural areas. There were generally amicable relations among the various religious communities. There were no reports of societal violence, harassment, or discrimination against members of religious groups. The Jewish community was very small, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

For a more detailed discussion, see the 2005 International Religious Freedom Report.

d. Freedom of Movement within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The law provides for these rights, and the government generally respected them in practice.

The law prohibits the use of forced exile, and the government did not use it.

Protection of Refugees

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice, the government provided protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country where they feared persecution. The government granted refugee status or asylum; however, there were long delays in the process. By law, the government does not accept refugees for permanent resettlement. The government cooperated with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.

Although largely peaceful, there were some reports of ethnic clashes among asylum seekers. In 2003 the government signed an agreement with the government of Rwanda and UNHCR to voluntarily repatriate approximately 5,500 refugees who fled following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. At year's end, only a small number of refugees had participated in the voluntary repatriation.

The government provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol.

In August 2004 the government cooperated with UNHCR in conducting a verification exercise to assess the population of refugees and asylum seekers in the country. UNHCR reported that the country hosted approximately 9,100 refugees (primarily from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi) at a refugee center in Dowa; though UNHCR and the government made efforts to relocate refugees to a second camp in Luwani. While no legal framework existed, the government routinely allowed refugees to seek both employment and educational opportunities. UNHCR, NGOs, and the government collaborated to provide education to children in refugee camps.
3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

The law provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of universal suffrage for citizens 18 years of age and older.

Elections and Political Participation

International election observers found the May 2004 presidential and parliamentary elections to have substantial shortcomings, including inequitable access to the state-owned media and poor planning by the MEC. The ruling party frequently monopolized resources and used public funds for campaign purposes. Voter turnout was low compared with the two previous presidential elections. With approximately 36 percent of the popular vote, President Bingu wa Mutharika, chosen by former President Muluzi as the UDF candidate, was elected to serve a 5-year term. Election discrepancies prevented parliamentary candidates from taking seats in six constituencies. By-elections for these vacancies took place on January 11. Observers declared them free and fair and better organized than the national elections. The president and vice president hold parliamentary seats but are constitutionally barred from holding other public office.

President Mutharika, Vice President Cassim Chilumpha, and a 30-member cabinet exercised executive authority. The executive exerted considerable influence over the National Assembly which followed a hybrid parliamentary system; a number of cabinet ministers also were members of the National Assembly.

Although the government did not prevent the activities of opposition political parties, the parties alleged that the government used bribery, other inducements, and violence to encourage opposition party divisions. Sporadic minor violence was common between supporters of rival political parties.

There were 27 women in the 193-seat National Assembly, and 5 women in the 30-member cabinet. Women comprised approximately 25 percent of the civil service. There were 2 female justices among the 23 Supreme and High Court justices, and a woman was appointed as inspector general of police, the highest-level position in law enforcement.

There were three members of minorities in the National Assembly. There was one cabinet member who was a person with disabilities; however, he resigned in October.

Government Corruption and Transparency

There was widespread public perception of corruption in the executive and legislative branches. President Mutharika continued his reform program, which included an ambitious anticorruption campaign. These activities contributed to waning support for the president and growing political tension. On October 18, the National Assembly adopted impeachment procedures. On October 20, an impeachment motion was adopted charging the president with alleged violations of the law, including election irregularities, the unlawful appointment of the head of the Malawi Police Service, and the use of state funds to establish the DPP. On October 26, the High Court issued an injunction against the procedures until the High Court could determine their constitutionality or until the injunction itself was overturned. There were no further developments at year's end.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) launched several investigations and made several indictments of former high-level government officials, including former President Bakili Muluzi. On October 17, the ACB arrested the secretary of the treasury and on October 18,the chief immigration officer on corruption charges. Their trials were pending at year's end.

On April 20, the mayor of Blantyre, John Chikakwiya, was sentenced to three years in prison for theft by a public servant and abuse of public funds. On December 12, the Supreme Court overturned his theft charge, and Chikakwiya was released early for good behavior.

On May 11, former Education Minister Yusuf Mwawa was charged with theft by a public servant and forgery. He was released on bail the same day, and on May 17, the president dismissed Mwawa from the cabinet. Mwawa's trial was pending at year's end. On November 2, MP Lucius Banda was arrested for forgery. On November 3, MP Maxwell Milanzi was arrested for covering up a previous arrest that would have made him ineligible for parliament. On November 14, former Education Minister Sam Mpasu was arrested on corruption charges. The three men were released on bail November 14; no trial dates were set by year's end.

The law provides for public access to government information, and the government respected this right in practice.
4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups operated without government restriction, training civic educators, advocating changes to existing laws and cultural practices, and investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.

Ombudsman Enock Chibwana was mandated by the law to investigate and take legal action against government officials responsible for human rights violations and other abuses. The ombudsman's freedom of action was circumscribed by legislation that requires a warrant and a three-day waiting period to gain access to certain government records. The activities of the ombudsman are subject to judicial review.

The constitutionally mandated MHRC was charged with monitoring, auditing, and promoting human rights provided for under the law and to carry out investigations regarding violations of human rights. The MHRC handled 1,136 complaints of human rights violations in 2004 compared to 587 complaints in 2003.

Nearly half of the complaints related to the rights of prisoners and detainees and included allegations of overstay on remand, denial of bail, and unheard appeals. Other common complaints cited in the MHRC's 2004 report related to unfair labor practices and inadequate access to justice and legal remedies.

The MHRC complained of severe financial and human resource constraints which led to a backlog of cases, delayed production of reports, and failure to expand human rights monitoring.
5. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

The law specifically provides for equal rights for women, forbids discrimination based on language or culture, and provides for equality and recognition before the law for every citizen. However, in practice the capacity of government institutions to assure equal rights for all citizens was limited.

Women

Domestic violence, especially wife beating, was common, and women seldom discussed the problem openly. The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence. The press published frequent accounts of rape and abuse, and the judiciary continued to impose heavier penalties on those convicted of rape, including up to 14-year prison sentences for child rapists. Police regularly investigated cases of rape and sexual assault but did not normally intervene in domestic disputes.

The law does not specifically prohibit female genital mutilation (FGM), and there were anecdotal reports that a few small ethnic groups practiced it.

While prostitution is not illegal per se, living off the wages earned through prostitution, owning a brothel, or forcing another person into prostitution are illegal. In July bar and hotel owners, participating in a 4-day workshop to brainstorm on commercial sex activities and the spread of HIV/AIDS, called on the government to criminalize prostitution. There was no government action during the year.

Under the law, women have the right to full and equal protection by law and may not be discriminated against on the basis of gender or marital status; however, in practice discrimination against women was pervasive, and women did not have opportunities equal to those available to men. Women had significantly lower levels of literacy, education, formal and nontraditional employment opportunities, and access to resources to increase agricultural productivity. The literacy rate among women between the ages of 15 and 45 was 46 percent; male literacy in the same age group was approximately 79 percent.

Women often had less access to legal and financial assistance, and wives often were victims of discriminatory and illegal inheritance practices in which the majority of the estate was taken by the deceased husband's family. Women usually were at a disadvantage in marriage, family, and property rights; however, awareness of women's legal rights continued to increase, and women began to speak out against abuse and discrimination. Households headed by women were represented disproportionately in the lowest quarter of income distribution; 52 percent of the country's full-time farmers were women. Women also had limited access to agricultural extension services, training, and credit. Gender training for agricultural extension workers and the gradual introduction of rural credit programs for women have increased; however, few women participated in the limited formal labor market, where they constituted less than 5 percent of managerial and administrative staff. The National Association of Businesswomen supported working women by making small loans to 300 women who successfully completed business management training.

The law provides for a minimum level of child support, widows' rights, and the rights to maternity leave; however, only individuals who utilized the formal legal system benefited from these legal protections. In some areas of the country, a widow's home and possessions were customarily taken by her in-laws. In a few isolated areas, a widow was sometimes forced to have sex with in-laws as part of a culturally-mandated "sexual cleansing" ritual following the death of her husband. In some cases, she was "inherited" by a brother-in-law or other male relative. Although there were no laws specifically prohibiting these practices, the government and civil society made efforts to abolish them by raising awareness concerning the inherent dangers of such behavior, including the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission.

The government addressed women's concerns through the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services.

Children

The law provides for equal treatment of children, and the government continued a high level of spending on children's health and welfare.

The government provided free primary education for all children, although education was not compulsory. Families were responsible for book fees and purchasing uniforms. Students from very poor families had access to a public book fund. Girls, especially in rural areas, have historically been unable to complete even a primary education and therefore were at a serious disadvantage in finding employment.

In January2004 the University of Malawi released a report on the status of free primary education since its inception in 1994. The report noted that over the past decade, the government increased its education budget annually, but the increases were not proportional to increasing student enrollment. Student dropout rates marginally decreased each year since free education was introduced, but the study concluded that rates remained high. The 2002 Malawi Demographic Household and Education Data Survey's report indicated that gender gaps in primary school attendance were small but that boys were much more likely to attend secondary school than girls. There also were large gaps in achievement levels between girls and boys.

The government took steps to respond to a March 2004 UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) study that showed a number of girls entered into sexual relationships with teachers for money, became pregnant, and subsequently left school. The study also found that many girls left school because of violent behavior by some teachers. In response, the government expanded legal protection of students subjected to exploitation and inappropriate relationships at school. On November 11, the Lilongwe magistrate court sentenced a male teacher to 6 years imprisonment for defiling a 10-year-old girl in a classroom.

More than half of the country's children lived in poverty, mostly in rural areas. Children in rural households headed by women were among the poorest. Only one-third of children had ready access to safe drinking water, infant mortality was high, and child malnutrition was a serious problem. On June 21, the government launched a National Plan of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children to mitigate the impact of poverty and HIV/AIDS on the country's estimated one million orphans.

A few charitable organizations attempted to reduce the number of child beggars in urban areas; however, the problem of street children worsened as the number of orphans whose parents died from HIV/AIDS increased. Extended family members normally cared for such children and other orphans.

The president urged parents and guardians to protect orphans and vulnerable children from abuse. There were societal patterns of child abuse. On April 15,a boy's private parts were cut off in Chinsapo; and on April 21,another boy's ears were cut off in Mchinji. The Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services provided access to medical care and rehabilitation in these cases. Investigations were ongoing at year's end.

The press reported several cases of sexual abuse of children, including arrests for rape and incest. On July 4, a 44-year-old man in Rumphi was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment for raping his 17-year-old daughter. On October 17,a 46-year old man in Dedzawas sentenced to 8 years' imprisonment for raping his 11-year-old granddaughter.

Abusive practices, including the secret initiation of girls into their future adult roles, were widespread. There was a re-emergence of the Kupimbira practice that allows a poor family to receive a loan in exchange for daughters of any age. FGM was performed in some cases (see section 5, Women).

A local NGO reported an increase in fathers marrying their own daughters in Mangochi District, and the organization urged women to report husbands who sleep with their daughters. The MHRC expressed concern over reports of parents forcing their daughters into marriages for food.

The Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services undertook various activities to enhance protection and support of victims. In March a workshop was held in Mangochi to enable stakeholders to develop strategies to combat child abuse. On November 3, the ministry announced a plan to introduce a child abuse hot line in early 2006. The ministry was in the process of converting its former regional offices into rehabilitation centers.

The Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services was attempting to change a law which allows 15-year-old girls to marry with parental consent.

In 2004 the government worked with UNICEF, international donors, and various NGOs to create and implement a Child Justice Act to ensure juveniles suitable access to the justice system. During the year some components of the act were implemented, including the July establishment of a child justice court and recruitment of juvenile justice officers.

The trafficking of children for sexual purposes was a problem (see section 5, Trafficking), and child prostitution also occurred. The belief that children were unlikely to be HIV positive and the widespread belief that sexual intercourse with virgins can cleanse an individual of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, contributed to the sexual exploitation of minors.

Child labor, including instances of forced child labor, was a problem (see section 6.d.). The MHRC conducted awareness-raising activities December 5-10 focused on the rights of children.

Trafficking in Persons

The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons specifically, and trafficking was a problem. Although the extent of human trafficking was undocumented, the government made efforts to combat trafficking and used existing laws to prosecute cases of child trafficking for agricultural labor exploitation. The penal code contains several provisions relating to prostitution and indecency that could be used to prosecute traffickers. Since 2001, seven cases involving trafficking in persons have been prosecuted. On September 24,two citizens and a foreigner were sentenced to seven years' imprisonment with hard labor for kidnapping. The three men were arrested in September while attempting to smuggle five young boys across the border into Zambia to work on tobacco estates. Other convicted child traffickers were required to pay fines.

Although the age of sexual consent is 14, there was no age specified for the protection of minors from sexual exploitation, child prostitution, or child pornography. The government worked with UNICEF and NGOs to refine child protection laws (see section 5, Children).

The country is a source and transit point for women and children trafficked for sexual purposes locally and to brothels abroad, particularly in South Africa. Victims trafficked to South Africa were typically between 14 and 24 years old, and were recruited with offers of marriage, study, or employment. According to the International Organization for Migration, sex tourists, primarily from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, lured children into sexual relationships with them while in the country. Poverty and low educational levels contributed to such exploitation. Traffickers involved in land border trafficking to South Africa were typically long-distance truck drivers and local businesswomen.

Police and the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services handled cases brought to the attention of authorities, and provided services, including counseling and reintegration assistance for victims.

Persons with Disabilities

The law provides for the support of persons with disabilities through greater access to public places, fair opportunities in employment, and full participation in all spheres of society; however, extremely limited resources prevented the government from guaranteeing these rights in practice. Reported violations were taken seriously, and the president publicly declared that students with disabilities should have equal access to education and other government services. The government has not mandated accessibility to buildings and services for persons with disabilities.

There were both public and privately supported schools and training centers that assisted persons with disabilities. There also were several self-supporting businesses run by and for persons with disabilities. A cabinet member with disabilities led the Ministry for Social Development and Persons with Disabilities until his October 9 resignation. During the 2004 elections, some accommodations were made for voters with disabilities. Voters requiring assistance were permitted to bring an assistant into the voting booth with them.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Homosexuality is illegal, although there were no prosecutions for homosexuality during the year.

Societal discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS was widespread and inhibited access to treatment; many individuals preferred to keep silent about their health rather than seek help and risk being ostracized. On June 1, the industrial relations court in Lilongwe ruled that an employer had discriminated against an HIV positive worker whom he fired after learning of her illness. The employer complied with the court decision to award 8 months' compensation to the worker.The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MOLVT) conducted a public relations program to reduce the stigma associated with having HIV/AIDS.
6. Worker Rights

a. The Right of Association

The law allows workers to form and join trade unions and workers exercised this right in practice; however, union membership was low due to the small percentage of the workforce in the formal sector, the lack of awareness of worker rights and benefits, and a resistance on the part of many employees to join unions. Army personnel and police could not belong to trade unions, but other civil servants were allowed to form unions. Union leaders estimated that 12 percent of the formal sector workforce belonged to unions; however, accurate statistics on the numbers of union members were not available. Employers, labor unions, and the government lacked sufficient knowledge of their legitimate roles in labor relations and disputes, which limited their effectiveness in the implementation and enforcement of the law.

Unions must register with the Registrar of Trade Unions and Employers' Organizations in the MOLVT, and registration was routinely granted. At year's end, 24 unions were registered.

The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers and requires that employers reinstate workers dismissed because of union activities. There were no reports of persons who were fired for their membership in unions.

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Unions have the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the government protected this right in practice. The law requires that at least 20 percent of employees (excluding senior managerial staff) belong to a union before such a union can engage in collective bargaining at the enterprise level, and at least 15 percent union membership for collective bargaining at the sector level. The law provides for the establishment of industrial councils in the absence of collective agreements for sector-level bargaining. Industrial council functions included wage negotiation, dispute resolution, and industry-specific labor policy development. In practice the law was not effectively implemented due to lack of human and financial resources.

The law allows members of a registered union to strike or go through a formal mediation process overseen by the MOLVT, and workers exercised this right in practice. A strike can only occur after all settlement procedures established in a collective agreement (an understanding, not necessarily signed, reached by both parties to attempt mediation) and conciliation efforts have failed. Laws do not specifically prohibit retaliation against strikers. There was no prohibition on actions against unions that were not registered legally. Members of a registered union in "essential services" have a limited right to strike. Essential services were specified as services whose interruption would endanger the life, health, or personal safety of the whole or part of the population, as determined by the Industrial Relations Court (IRC).

Arbitration rulings were legally enforceable; however, in practice, due to the lack of funding and two-year case backlog, the IRC could not monitor cases and adequately enforce the laws.

At year's end, 15 firms held licenses to operate under export processing zone (EPZ) status, and 14 were operational. The full range of labor regulations applied to the EPZs; however, union organizers stated they had little access to workers in the EPZs.

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, such labor occurred (see sections 5 and 6.d.). According to the ICFTU, bonded labor involving entire families was widespread on tobacco plantations. Tobacco tenants have exclusive arrangements, often unwritten, with the estate owners to sell their crop and to buy inputs such as fertilizer, seed, and often food. These costs, in addition to rent charges, often were greater than the artificially low price received for the tobacco crop, leading to a situation of debt and bonded labor to repay the input and other costs.

d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment

The law defines children as persons under 16 years of age, and the law prohibits the employment of persons under 14; however, child labor was a problem. The law also prohibits the employment of children under 18 in work that was hazardous, harmful, or interferes with their education. In November 2004 the government published a National Code of Conduct on Child Labor, which defines guiding principles for combatting all forms of child labor.

There was significant child labor on tobacco and tea farms, subsistence farms, and in domestic service, largely as a result of extreme poverty and longstanding cultural traditions. Three child traffickers attempting to smuggle children to Zambia for agricultural labor exploitation were successfully prosecuted and convicted (see section 5, Trafficking).

A local NGO reported that in urban areas, it was common to find young girls working outside of their family as domestic servants, receiving little or no wages. School-age children often worked as vendors. The results of a 2002 MOLVT study on child labor released in 2004 indicated that 72 percent of children were in school and 80 percent of children were working either in or outside of their homes. In addition, approximately 38 percent of children 5 to 14 years of age worked over 7 hours per week.

To strengthen the fight against child labor, the MOLVT, in collaboration with workers and employers, completed its work on a "hazardous work schedule" that was awaiting final review at year's end. The schedule details all work that is considered hazardous and not suitable for persons below the age of 18.

The MOLVT conducted three refresher courses for its 150 child labor inspectors and its district and community labor committees. In addition, 77 child labor youth activists received training on child labor using the new child labor code of conduct. With support from UNICEF, the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and Community Services also trained 240 child protection workers throughout the country. Budgetary constraints hindered minimum work age and child labor law enforcement by police and MOLVT inspectors. The MOLVT youth committees in rural areas monitored and reported on child labor.

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

The MOLVT sets separate urban and rural minimum wage rates based on recommendations of the Tripartite Wage Advisory Board (TWAB) composed of representatives of labor, government, and the private sector. However, the TWAB encountered problems due to inefficient organizational structure and inadequate funding, which hindered timely and accurate revision of the wage rate recommendations. The urban minimum wage amounted to approximately $0.80 (MK 97) per day; in all other areas, it was approximately $0.60 (MK 74) per day. Minimum wage rates did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Wage earners often supplemented their incomes through farming activities. The MOLVT lacked the resources to effectively enforce the minimum wage. However, the minimum wage largely was irrelevant for the great majority of citizens, who earned their livelihood outside the formal wage sector.

The maximum legal workweek was 48 hours, with a mandatory weekly 24-hour rest period. The laws require payment for overtime work and prohibit compulsory overtime. In practice employers frequently violated statutory time restrictions.

The law includes extensive occupational health and safety standards; however, MOLVT enforcement of these standards was erratic. Workers – particularly in industrial jobs – often worked without basic safety clothing and equipment. Workers dismissed for filing complaints about workplace conditions have the right to file a complaint at the labor office or sue the employer for wrongful dismissal. Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment; however, given the low level of education of most workers and the high level of unemployment, workers were unlikely to exercise this right.

Mechanisms for protecting internationally recognized worker rights were weak. There were serious manpower shortages at the MOLVT; as a result, there were almost no labor standards inspections. The law protects foreign workers in correct legal status. Illegal foreign workers were subject to deportation.

Topics: Human rights, Women-at-risk, Children-at-risk, Torture, Forced labour, Extrajudicial executions, Disappeared persons, Arbitrary arrest and detention, Womens rights, Fundamental freedoms, Economic, social and cultural rights, Childrens rights, Women, Violence against women, Trafficking in persons, Social group discrimination, Religious discrimination, Racial discrimination, Gender discrimination, Ethnic discrimination, Freedom of speech, Freedom of religion, Freedom of movement, Freedom of expression, Freedom of association, Freedom of assembly,