It is impossible to hear people , either as individuals or organisations, talk about the necessity of abolishing the death penalty without a creeping wonder: What is in there for them?
And this line of reasoning [or is it questioning] is natural and very much an integral part of that ancient force of nosy behaviour called curiosity.
You see, any new idea, suggestion or proposal is like a mountain top or valley: it is impossible to ignore because it rises above, or falls below, the normal and the familiar.
And, so, it must not hit you as the subject of a creeping wonder [or point of surprise] that I am raising an alarm against the persistent -- and gradually successful-- campaign to have the death penalty scraped from our statutes.
To begin with, nothing happens by chance, especially in the world of project implementation. Designers are behind the curtains, strategically doing everything that may lead to successful implementation of an initiative while, at the same time, ensuring that it [the initiative] gives the impression of natural progression.
I am thinking along these lines as I tackle the issue of the campaign to scrape off the death penalty from our statutes. I am also thinking as a Communication and Cultural Studies student, too. I think outside the box and, often, I think about power relations.
Well, the campaign to abolish the death penalty from our statutes started deceptively after 1994.
Ironically, it was the then 'Son of a poor man' and 'Soldier' Lucius Banda who was 'used' [or, rather, abused] in this case. He 'composed' Keseli kwa Ndende in which he implored Malawians to be considerate of those convicted for murder.
Lucius -- I mean, the persona is Kuseli kwa Ndende equated the state machinery to a 'murderer' if it hanged those sentenced to death.
It must be said that Lucius did wonders in terms of imagery, as he put a human face to the issue of hanging people convicted on murder charges.
Amangokhala
Kudikira imfa
Kuseri kwa ndende
Kuli maka-ko oo!
N'pomwe adzaphedwe momvetsa chisoni
N'pomwe adzaphedwe momvetsa chisoni
Chorus
Dziko lathu likanangomva
Kulira kwawo o!
Poti wena amangophedwa
Osalakwa aaa!
Chigawenga n'chowuma mtima
Chinapha muthu u
Koma ngati boma lichibwenzera
Zasiyana pati-i!
In summary, the personally is putting the listener in the position of a prisoner waiting to be hanged. The prisoner waits for days on end-- uncertain of what may come next.
The prisoner is certain that death will come, yes; but is in the dark about when it would come. People have talked of situations where individuals die a thousand, million, times before their actual death. This is one such scenario.
The persona in Lucius' song goes on to say "A dangerous criminal murdered a man. If the government reiterates [by hanging the murderer], how different are the two?"
But, then, there are contradictions in the lyrics. The convict is a "dangerous" murderer, after all. It has been proven in court. Why should the murderer be sustained, on the state's bill?
Of course, there are other murder convicts who had nothing to do with the murder. They found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. They are constrained, resource-wise, and did not get the best legal representation they could, otherwise [resources permitting], get.
And, so, they find themselves behind bars-- waiting for a death that is not theirs. There are such cases, yes. And it is sad that such cases are there.
But, then, we have suspects who actually killed, willingly, and do not want to pay the price of death.
When Atupele Muluzi, a lawyer, was Legal Affairs Committee [of Parliament] chairperson during the late Bingu wa Mutharika's regime, the committee members went outside the country to appreciate how other countries were fairing on the issue [of the death penalty.
On return, Atupele said: "Malawi is not ready to abolish the death penalty."
And, since then, the scrape-the-death-penalty advocates have gone into mute mode. But, time and again, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director, Timothy Mtambo, wakes up from his deep slumber to talk about the importance of scraping the death penalty from the statutes.
And, then, he goes back to the comfort of his silence again. And days go by.
In the background, the campaign goes on.
Now, going back to the issue of the reasoning behind calls to scrape off the death penalty from our statutes. I think [as a Communication and Cultural Studies student] that someone wants the world to rid itself of the death penalty in readiness for another holocaust.
I suspect it will take place in Africa this time around. And there will be nobody to hold accountable and hang for the senseless murders that are to take place. Call it my conspiracy theory but, surely, this thing will take place.
And, then, people will realise the sheer folly of scraping the death penalty from the statutes.
We will all have helped in clearing the ground for murder and no one-- not the next generations, at least-- will forgive us for letting this things happen.
But we can prevent this thing by saying 'No' to suggestions that we scrape the requirement to hang those caught with their hands in the jar.
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Thursday, April 14, 2016
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Marital Rape: Dusted, But Sleeping, Debate
A mass of tangled hurdles, mainly stemming out of cultural inhibitions, stood in the way of the campaign to have marital rape recognised in the statutes in Malawi.
And, in the end— judging by the silence of hither to relentless campaigners – the majority who opposed the suggestion seem to have won, yet another indicator that gender activism faces various windings before gender equality principles could become entrenched in Malawi society.
But, according to gender activist Emma Kaliya, it is just unfortunate that a significant number of Malawians” misunderstood the whole concept, a development that culminated in people pouring cold water on the suggestion.
“But the essence [of the suggestion] was to ensure that human rights are protected, irrespective of gender,” she says.
Uncharted territory
Today, marital rape remains an uncharted territory in Malawi, though other Southern African Development Community (Sadc) countries have taken that route, most notably South Africa.
According to Solidarity Helping Hand Women in Action, South Africa holds the title of “rape capital of the world” with reports that “a woman is raped every 17 seconds”.
This, says the organisation, is in spite of the fact that South Africa’s laws make rape an offence. It observes that “The situation is even more dire regarding marital rape – a form of rape that is arguably the least recognised of all forms of rape. One wonders whether the law is enough to deal with what appears to be an attitudinal problem more than anything.”
Attitudinal problem
An October 2012 paper titled ‘Marital rape in South Africa’, published by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Osisa), indicates that marital rape is “one of the most serious violations of a women’s bodily integrity”.
Yet, according to a 1997 report by the South African Law Commission, it [marital rape] “is a term that many people still have a problem comprehending, with some still describing it as a ‘contradiction in terms’, adding that “The attitude of many – not just in South Africa, but also in Southern Africa, and perhaps the whole continent – is that it is not rape as long as the perpetrator is one’s husband, or known partner”.
Ironically, marital rape is recognised in the definition of gender-based violence given by the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which states that “violence against women shall be understood to encompass…marital rape”.
According to the Osisa paper, “Marital rape is any unwanted sexual acts by a spouse or ex-spouse, committed without consent and/or against a person's will, obtained by force, or threat of force, intimidation, or when a person is unable to consent”.
The paper then cites a 2006 World Health Organisation study on domestic violence. The study found that intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence in a woman’s life – “much more common than assault or rape by strangers or acquaintances”.
According to a Human Rights Watch report titled ‘The costs of marital rape in Southern Africa’, the Sadc Protocol on Gender and Development obliges member states to amend their laws to ensure equal rights for women across a wide range of issues.
Sadc countries include South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
However, the report, compiled by Dr Nada Ali, researcher in the Women’s Rights division of Human Rights Watch, observes that there are many cases of resistance in terms of recognising marital rape.
Ali observes: “This stark picture shows exactly how a lack of commitment to fighting domestic violence, marital rape and gender inequality could make fighting the HIV pandemic harder – and could cost Sadc countries universal access to HIV prevention and treatment. This is why women’s groups must continue to press governments to do more to combat domestic violence, until the idea that marital rape is a contradiction in terms becomes a thing of the past.”
Can marital rape work?
According to human rights lawyer, Chrispin Sibande, there are cases where marital rape becomes a straightforward issue in countries where it is criminalised.
“For example, when a husband and wife are on separation [and one of the parties still wants to exercise conjugal rights], it [marital rape] becomes a clear-cut issue,” Sibande says.
Otherwise, the ‘Marital rape in Southern Africa’ report indicates that it is a tall order for marital rape to become a part of the laws in Sadc countries, including Malawi.
“Malawi, for instance, only defines rape outside of the marriage context despite the fact that 75 percent of married women in the country have admitted to being raped by their husbands,” the report says, quoting a 2001 British Broadcasting Corporation report.
Yet another indicator that the road to recognising marital rape in Sadc is winding and half lit.
Sunday, April 10, 2016
When a Principled Man Falls, His Stock Only Rises: The Case of Allan Chiyembekeza
It was clear, from the moment he was appointed Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Minister, that Dr Allan Chiyembekeza would live under the shadow of anxiety.
Chiyembekeza is,to begin with, a professional who sticks to professionalism, and seems unwilling to sacrifice his principles on the altar of political maneuvering.
This was clear at the height of the Mulanje-Thyolo land wrangles.
A Civil Society Organisation in Mulanje was leading a crusade against tea estate owners, with the aim of grabbing back land from the tea estate owners if they did not pay back-dated 'taxes'.
Led by People's Land Organisation and Mulanje Central Member of Parliament, Bon Kalindo, the crusaders gave President Peter Mutharika 90 days to act on their demands, or face the embarrassment of seeing tea estate land being divided among the locals.
Well, the President did not bulge and it seemed that it is the people who were behind the crusade that were taking two steps backwards.
Other members of Parliament in Thyolo, led by Charles Mchacha, launched an offensive, castigating Kalindo and People's Land Organisation in a press statement signed by all Thyolo members of Parliament except Chiyembekeza.
It must be borne in mind that Kalindo is a ruling Democratic Progressive Party Member of Parliament. He was, therefore, seen to be acting against party principles.
I once attended a meeting addressed by Mchacha in Wilson Village in Thyolo, and one of the topis was the debate on land. Well, Mchacha made it clear that he was not part of the scheme and that Kalindo-- who he accused of sending him threatening messages-- would not make it in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
Well, 2019 is very far away but the Democratic Progressive Party is said to be grooming someone to replace Kalindo in Mulanje Central.
What we learned from the land debate, though, is the fact that Chiyembekeza-- who has just been relieved as Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Minister-- is not a man who sails by the wind. He refused to be dragged into the land debate, choosing, instead, to concentrate on less divisive issues.
Again, Chiyembekeza showed that he could be in the canoe but sail in a different direction when he addressed the issue of irrigation and its relevance to Malawi. He said, among other things, that there was need to take irrigation to another level as there was little to show for previous efforts due to mis-application of irrigation technologies.
Unfortunately, as happens sometimes, the media quoted him out of context by reporting that he had poured cold water on irrigation policies.
By the way, there are differences between 'quoting out of context' and 'misquoting'. When you quote out of context, it means you have taken out words that suit you, leaving behind words that form the gist of a sentence or paragraph to suit your interests. So, a source ends up saying what they did not say. The undiplomatic way of putting it is 'twisting words'.
When you 'misquote', on the other hand, it means attributing words one did not say to that individual. It may be that someone said the said words but, then, to attribute to the wrong person.
In Chiyembekeza's case, reporters removed some words and connected words that would originally have been words apart.
Again, it was like Chiyembekeza did not want to sail with the winds while taking his ride in the blue [Democratic Progressive Party canoe]. He was with them but [as Jesus Christ put it the other way round] not of them-- a costly thing for all intents and purposes.
To begin with, irrigation has been one of the scorecards for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Indeed, former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, introduced the Greenbelt Initiative in a bid to revive agriculture in the country.
He must have taken the cue from initiatives such as the Kasinthula Irrigation Scheme, which has shown that, tooled property, irrigation can be the saviour that has never visited Malawi.
So, to talk ill of irrigation is akin to scratching the President's back with a knife.
And, on the premise, Chiyembekeza had to go.
But, then, his stock can only rise after the fall. After all, he never contaminated his, otherwise, good record with the dirty waters of politics.
And, surely, away from the hassles of being Minister-- which go with the business of being misquoted and quoted out of context-- he could be plotting his next move.
He would not want to fall as Minister and, then, fall as Member of Parliament.
Chiyembekeza is,to begin with, a professional who sticks to professionalism, and seems unwilling to sacrifice his principles on the altar of political maneuvering.
This was clear at the height of the Mulanje-Thyolo land wrangles.
A Civil Society Organisation in Mulanje was leading a crusade against tea estate owners, with the aim of grabbing back land from the tea estate owners if they did not pay back-dated 'taxes'.
Led by People's Land Organisation and Mulanje Central Member of Parliament, Bon Kalindo, the crusaders gave President Peter Mutharika 90 days to act on their demands, or face the embarrassment of seeing tea estate land being divided among the locals.
Well, the President did not bulge and it seemed that it is the people who were behind the crusade that were taking two steps backwards.
Other members of Parliament in Thyolo, led by Charles Mchacha, launched an offensive, castigating Kalindo and People's Land Organisation in a press statement signed by all Thyolo members of Parliament except Chiyembekeza.
It must be borne in mind that Kalindo is a ruling Democratic Progressive Party Member of Parliament. He was, therefore, seen to be acting against party principles.
I once attended a meeting addressed by Mchacha in Wilson Village in Thyolo, and one of the topis was the debate on land. Well, Mchacha made it clear that he was not part of the scheme and that Kalindo-- who he accused of sending him threatening messages-- would not make it in the 2019 parliamentary elections.
Well, 2019 is very far away but the Democratic Progressive Party is said to be grooming someone to replace Kalindo in Mulanje Central.
What we learned from the land debate, though, is the fact that Chiyembekeza-- who has just been relieved as Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Minister-- is not a man who sails by the wind. He refused to be dragged into the land debate, choosing, instead, to concentrate on less divisive issues.
Again, Chiyembekeza showed that he could be in the canoe but sail in a different direction when he addressed the issue of irrigation and its relevance to Malawi. He said, among other things, that there was need to take irrigation to another level as there was little to show for previous efforts due to mis-application of irrigation technologies.
Unfortunately, as happens sometimes, the media quoted him out of context by reporting that he had poured cold water on irrigation policies.
By the way, there are differences between 'quoting out of context' and 'misquoting'. When you quote out of context, it means you have taken out words that suit you, leaving behind words that form the gist of a sentence or paragraph to suit your interests. So, a source ends up saying what they did not say. The undiplomatic way of putting it is 'twisting words'.
When you 'misquote', on the other hand, it means attributing words one did not say to that individual. It may be that someone said the said words but, then, to attribute to the wrong person.
In Chiyembekeza's case, reporters removed some words and connected words that would originally have been words apart.
Again, it was like Chiyembekeza did not want to sail with the winds while taking his ride in the blue [Democratic Progressive Party canoe]. He was with them but [as Jesus Christ put it the other way round] not of them-- a costly thing for all intents and purposes.
To begin with, irrigation has been one of the scorecards for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Indeed, former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, introduced the Greenbelt Initiative in a bid to revive agriculture in the country.
He must have taken the cue from initiatives such as the Kasinthula Irrigation Scheme, which has shown that, tooled property, irrigation can be the saviour that has never visited Malawi.
So, to talk ill of irrigation is akin to scratching the President's back with a knife.
And, on the premise, Chiyembekeza had to go.
But, then, his stock can only rise after the fall. After all, he never contaminated his, otherwise, good record with the dirty waters of politics.
And, surely, away from the hassles of being Minister-- which go with the business of being misquoted and quoted out of context-- he could be plotting his next move.
He would not want to fall as Minister and, then, fall as Member of Parliament.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Battle of Giants: Jessie Kabwila versus Patricia Kaliati
...it will rain snakes and frogs
President Peter Mutharika must have had Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson, Jessie Kabwila, in mind when he shuffled his Cabinet today.
Kabwila, we all know, has been giving the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a tough time in both Parliament and the media.
It is as if Kabwila has no match.
Of course, DPP Member of Parliament, Patricia Kaliati, has been there to defend her party and attack Kabwila. So vocal have the two women been that gender activist, Emma Kaliya, has chided men [not the two women] for letting the two women tussle, for days on end.
Kaliya feels that men cheer the two women on, in a bid to present women as too-good-for-nothing and too noisy.
Men, like Kenwilliams Mhango, have, on their part, wondered why women themselves cannot douse the fire, instead of blaming men for watching on and cheering the two women.
To say the truth, Kabwila had no match in Information Minister Jappie Mhango. Mhango was pulled this and that way by Kabwila that Kaliati was the only 'natural' selection.
For beginners, Kaliati is a friendly-at-heart, no nonsense woman. She seems to have all the answers to all the questions. Of course, her responses are often without substance, but she gives reporters something to write about.
Kaliati will, perhaps, be remembered for her comment [as Information Minister] when Malawi severed ties with Taiwan. Apparently, some Taiwanese officials had, predictably, reacted angrily to former president, Bingu wa Mutharika's decision to abandon the Republic of China ship for that of the People's Republic of China.
Taiwan had been Malawi's friend for years, the official opined, to be abandoned in mid air like that.
But Kaliati, the ever more loquacious, had a quick fire response: "What are they complaining about. Is Malawi the only country that benefited from the relationship? Let them [Taiwan] return our frogs and snakes!"
That is Kaliati for you.
Now, with her appointment as government spokesperson, Kabwila has more than a match and Malawians should expect -- not fireworks-- but frogs and snakes to run for cover!
That-- despite the fall of Africulture, Irrigation and Water Development Minister Allan Chiyembekeza-- is the master-piece of Mutharika's cabinet reshuffle.
Republic of Malawi
PRESS RELEASE
MALAWI CABINET: APRIL 7, 2016
His Excellency the State President, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Section 94 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, has made some changes to the Cabinet with effect from today, 7th April, 2016.
President of the Republic of Malawi and Minister of Defence: His Excellency Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika
Vice President of the Republic of Malawi: Right Honourable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development: Honourable Goodall Gondwe
Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development: Honourable Dr. George Chaponda, M.P.
Minister of Labour, Youth and Manpower Development.: Honourable Henry Mussa, M.P.
Minister of Information and Civic Education: Honourable Patricia Kaliati, M.P.
Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare: Honourable Dr. Jean Kalilani, M.P.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development: Honourable Kondwani Nankhumwa, M.P.
Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development: Honourable Atupele Muluzi, M.P.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation: Honourable Francis Kasaila, M.P.
11. Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism: Honourable Joseph Mwanamvekha, M.P.
12. Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining: Honourable Bright Msaka, SC
13. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs: Honourable Samuel Tembenu, SC
14. Minister of Education, Science and Technology: Honourable Dr Emmanuel Fabiano, M.P.
15. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security: Honourable Jappie Mhango, M.P.
16. Minister of Sports and Culture: Honourable Grace Obama Chiumia, M.P.
17. Minister of Health: Honourable Dr Peter Kumpalume, M.P.
18. Minister of Transport and Public Works: Honourable Malison Ndau, M.P.
19. Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology: Honourable Vincent Ghambi, M.P.
20. Deputy Minister of Defence: Honourable Agrey Masi, M.P.
George C. Mkondiwa
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT
7TH APRIL, 2016
President Peter Mutharika must have had Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson, Jessie Kabwila, in mind when he shuffled his Cabinet today.
Kabwila, we all know, has been giving the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a tough time in both Parliament and the media.
It is as if Kabwila has no match.
Of course, DPP Member of Parliament, Patricia Kaliati, has been there to defend her party and attack Kabwila. So vocal have the two women been that gender activist, Emma Kaliya, has chided men [not the two women] for letting the two women tussle, for days on end.
Kaliya feels that men cheer the two women on, in a bid to present women as too-good-for-nothing and too noisy.
Men, like Kenwilliams Mhango, have, on their part, wondered why women themselves cannot douse the fire, instead of blaming men for watching on and cheering the two women.
To say the truth, Kabwila had no match in Information Minister Jappie Mhango. Mhango was pulled this and that way by Kabwila that Kaliati was the only 'natural' selection.
For beginners, Kaliati is a friendly-at-heart, no nonsense woman. She seems to have all the answers to all the questions. Of course, her responses are often without substance, but she gives reporters something to write about.
Kaliati will, perhaps, be remembered for her comment [as Information Minister] when Malawi severed ties with Taiwan. Apparently, some Taiwanese officials had, predictably, reacted angrily to former president, Bingu wa Mutharika's decision to abandon the Republic of China ship for that of the People's Republic of China.
Taiwan had been Malawi's friend for years, the official opined, to be abandoned in mid air like that.
But Kaliati, the ever more loquacious, had a quick fire response: "What are they complaining about. Is Malawi the only country that benefited from the relationship? Let them [Taiwan] return our frogs and snakes!"
That is Kaliati for you.
Now, with her appointment as government spokesperson, Kabwila has more than a match and Malawians should expect -- not fireworks-- but frogs and snakes to run for cover!
That-- despite the fall of Africulture, Irrigation and Water Development Minister Allan Chiyembekeza-- is the master-piece of Mutharika's cabinet reshuffle.
Republic of Malawi
PRESS RELEASE
MALAWI CABINET: APRIL 7, 2016
His Excellency the State President, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by Section 94 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, has made some changes to the Cabinet with effect from today, 7th April, 2016.
President of the Republic of Malawi and Minister of Defence: His Excellency Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika
Vice President of the Republic of Malawi: Right Honourable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development: Honourable Goodall Gondwe
Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development: Honourable Dr. George Chaponda, M.P.
Minister of Labour, Youth and Manpower Development.: Honourable Henry Mussa, M.P.
Minister of Information and Civic Education: Honourable Patricia Kaliati, M.P.
Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare: Honourable Dr. Jean Kalilani, M.P.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development: Honourable Kondwani Nankhumwa, M.P.
Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development: Honourable Atupele Muluzi, M.P.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation: Honourable Francis Kasaila, M.P.
11. Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism: Honourable Joseph Mwanamvekha, M.P.
12. Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining: Honourable Bright Msaka, SC
13. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs: Honourable Samuel Tembenu, SC
14. Minister of Education, Science and Technology: Honourable Dr Emmanuel Fabiano, M.P.
15. Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security: Honourable Jappie Mhango, M.P.
16. Minister of Sports and Culture: Honourable Grace Obama Chiumia, M.P.
17. Minister of Health: Honourable Dr Peter Kumpalume, M.P.
18. Minister of Transport and Public Works: Honourable Malison Ndau, M.P.
19. Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Technology: Honourable Vincent Ghambi, M.P.
20. Deputy Minister of Defence: Honourable Agrey Masi, M.P.
George C. Mkondiwa
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT
7TH APRIL, 2016
Dumbo Lemani: Missed Multifaceted Figure
He had a way of conveying information in such a way that his mannerisms always compensated for the disturbance of spending minutes trying to make sense out of his words.
Those on the opposite side of the political divide always had a bone to pick against him, for, to say the truth, he had a way of plucking feathers here and there.
In the sports world, he wore the crown of such adjectives as flamboyant, outspoken, carefree and others too many to be attributed to one man.
And, then, he was a pastor. The Reverend Dr Dumbo Lemani.
He was a man of so many faces.
When his time to bid farewell to the country, and the world, he so loved was nigh, he was still fighting battles for himself and others he, in his wisdom, perceived to have been wrongfully treated.
And, then, when the government failed to send him abroad for medical check up, he succumbed to death-- another bright star plucked from the skies.
Since then, Malawi has had no other version of Dumbo Lemani: The politician, the preacher, the sportsman, the peacemaker, the freethinker, the father, the husband, the-many-things-to-so-many people.
As someone who learned the art of journalism at the UDF [United Democratic Front] News between 2003 and 2004, I had, on several occasions, bumped into Dumbo Lemani several times at the UDF headquarters in Limbe. And, from those encounters, I learned that he was a man who could relate to everyone.
Hidden behind tinted chroma lens, a joke never escaped his lips.
I remember one day, when I bumped into him while chewing sugarcane outside the office, he said: "Kamfana iwe [little boy], why are you eating sugarcane as if you are a bushman? Those are not for human beings!"
Before I could think that that was a bad joke, Dumbo Lemani gave me a package of assorted biscuits, saying: "From today, develop the habit of eating these [biscuits]. They will facilitate the decay of your teeth and you will no longer need sugarcane!"
However, two days later, I found Dumbo Lemani eating sugarcane with automobile mechanics behind the UDF office. The garage I am referring to is still there. It has always been there.
Well, Dumbo Lemani was not one to be embarrassed. He was the approachable type. The easy-to-mingle-with type. Not wanting to let that moment go, he invited me using the name he had come up with [for me]. "Iwe Kalombo [Hey, Kalombo -- for Chirombo], do not think I have become poorer than an opposition politician. Here is K1,000 for your lunch."
That was Dumbo Lemani, for real.
One day, when Malawi Distilleries Limited was launching Tropical Cathy Light Spirits at the Blantyre Sports Club, I joined the party. Being new in Malawi journalism, I got excited when I saw Malawi Distilleries Limited officials inviting people to drink free-for-all beer, liquor, wine and what have you.
Well, what happened thereafter, after taking one to many, is a story for another day. But someone wanted to take a picture of me without my knowledge and Dumbo Lemani-- the father figure-- alongside Kenneth Nyahoda his trusted lieutenant, threatened the photographers. "If you capture his [my] pictures without his consent, I will shoot you."
Everyone knew he meant it. And nobody dared take the pictures.
With Dumbo Lemani around, I was safe.
People may remember Dumbo Lemani as someone who was so close to Atcheya [former president Bakili Muluzi] that they were like brothers. True. Their relationship was special.
One of my favourite file photos in the UDF News pictures library [actually, what we called a pictures library was a big carton the size of Malawi Zebu] was a picture of Dumbo Lemani in tinted glasses looking directly into Muluzi's eyes. There was no bodyguard and it was Dumbo Lemani who was more intimidating than Muluzi. The bond between them was thick!
Remember, when the United Democratic Front won the 2004 presidential elections after featuring former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, it was Dumbo Lemani who addressed members of the press a year after the elections and, while the sun was baking trees in midday, said: "We rigged the 2004 elections."
Of course, the words sounded like the lament of a frustrated man who has nothing to lose. And, because it was Dumbo Lemani, nobody took him seriously. He was not even arrested by the Mutharika administration.
Malawians may also leave to remember that day Dumbo Lemani started moving around with a blanket, toothpaste and a toothbrush. When asked, he said: "I have heard that the government [of Mutharika] wants to arrest me. So, I have prepared these items in readiness for a stint in prison. I am ready to go to prison!"
People thought he was joking. He was not.
During one of those days, I met him at Escom Power House in Blantyre and asked him: "Chief, are you, really, serious about going to prison. Why can't you give the shoe-shiners the toothbrush. They have perfected the toothbrush into a shoe-shining too, you know?"
But Dumbo said it was no time for jokes. These people are taking Malawians for granted. Where were they when we were fighting for multiparty democracy?"
I did not continue the discussion. I knew he was serious. And that he was serious because he was angry. And sad.
I did not know Dumbo Lemani much as a reverend. So, I will not about about that.
But I can talk of Dumbo Lemani as a sports man. And these are accounts I got from my father, Leviano Simon. Now, my father was a staunch supporter of Hardware Stars Football Club, and cared little about Mighty [now Be Forward] Wanderers and Bata [now Nyasa] Bullets.
But he remembers Dumbo Lemani, who used to be a Wanderers' team doctor in the 1980s.
My father [May His Soul Rest in Peace] fondly said of Lemani, a man he hardly knew: "Player wa Wanderers akavulala, amwenye onse ankakuwa kuti: Alowe a Dumbo Lemani! Alowe a Dumbo Lemani! [Whenever a Wanderers' player got injured, Malawians of Asian origin could shout: Let Dumbo Lemani get onto the pitch [to pay medical attention to the player]!"
Such was the magnetic nature of Dumbo Lemani!
He was so many things to so many people and will be remembered for many years to come.
As Parliamentarian for Zomba Thondwe Constituency, Dumbo Lemani did not beat about the bush. His radio jingles were accompanied by the following lyrics from the Nangalembe Brothers:
Mukanena za ine mutopa
Mukanena za ine
Za ine mutopa
Mukanena za ine eee
Za ine mutopa!
Tazingogwirani ntchitozo
Tazingogwirani ntchitozo
Mukanena za ine
Za ine
Mutopa
Mukanena za ine
Za ine mutopa [the task of talking about me will just tire you out! Concentrate on work!]
But, then, who are we not to talk of Dumbo Lemani?
Who are we not to remember him?
Surely, we ain't gonna get tired!
That giant heart, the white beards: Those were stilled by unappreciative death that day, leaving us stranded between fond and sad memories.
Those on the opposite side of the political divide always had a bone to pick against him, for, to say the truth, he had a way of plucking feathers here and there.
In the sports world, he wore the crown of such adjectives as flamboyant, outspoken, carefree and others too many to be attributed to one man.
And, then, he was a pastor. The Reverend Dr Dumbo Lemani.
He was a man of so many faces.
When his time to bid farewell to the country, and the world, he so loved was nigh, he was still fighting battles for himself and others he, in his wisdom, perceived to have been wrongfully treated.
And, then, when the government failed to send him abroad for medical check up, he succumbed to death-- another bright star plucked from the skies.
Since then, Malawi has had no other version of Dumbo Lemani: The politician, the preacher, the sportsman, the peacemaker, the freethinker, the father, the husband, the-many-things-to-so-many people.
As someone who learned the art of journalism at the UDF [United Democratic Front] News between 2003 and 2004, I had, on several occasions, bumped into Dumbo Lemani several times at the UDF headquarters in Limbe. And, from those encounters, I learned that he was a man who could relate to everyone.
Hidden behind tinted chroma lens, a joke never escaped his lips.
I remember one day, when I bumped into him while chewing sugarcane outside the office, he said: "Kamfana iwe [little boy], why are you eating sugarcane as if you are a bushman? Those are not for human beings!"
Before I could think that that was a bad joke, Dumbo Lemani gave me a package of assorted biscuits, saying: "From today, develop the habit of eating these [biscuits]. They will facilitate the decay of your teeth and you will no longer need sugarcane!"
However, two days later, I found Dumbo Lemani eating sugarcane with automobile mechanics behind the UDF office. The garage I am referring to is still there. It has always been there.
Well, Dumbo Lemani was not one to be embarrassed. He was the approachable type. The easy-to-mingle-with type. Not wanting to let that moment go, he invited me using the name he had come up with [for me]. "Iwe Kalombo [Hey, Kalombo -- for Chirombo], do not think I have become poorer than an opposition politician. Here is K1,000 for your lunch."
That was Dumbo Lemani, for real.
One day, when Malawi Distilleries Limited was launching Tropical Cathy Light Spirits at the Blantyre Sports Club, I joined the party. Being new in Malawi journalism, I got excited when I saw Malawi Distilleries Limited officials inviting people to drink free-for-all beer, liquor, wine and what have you.
Well, what happened thereafter, after taking one to many, is a story for another day. But someone wanted to take a picture of me without my knowledge and Dumbo Lemani-- the father figure-- alongside Kenneth Nyahoda his trusted lieutenant, threatened the photographers. "If you capture his [my] pictures without his consent, I will shoot you."
Everyone knew he meant it. And nobody dared take the pictures.
With Dumbo Lemani around, I was safe.
People may remember Dumbo Lemani as someone who was so close to Atcheya [former president Bakili Muluzi] that they were like brothers. True. Their relationship was special.
One of my favourite file photos in the UDF News pictures library [actually, what we called a pictures library was a big carton the size of Malawi Zebu] was a picture of Dumbo Lemani in tinted glasses looking directly into Muluzi's eyes. There was no bodyguard and it was Dumbo Lemani who was more intimidating than Muluzi. The bond between them was thick!
Remember, when the United Democratic Front won the 2004 presidential elections after featuring former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, it was Dumbo Lemani who addressed members of the press a year after the elections and, while the sun was baking trees in midday, said: "We rigged the 2004 elections."
Of course, the words sounded like the lament of a frustrated man who has nothing to lose. And, because it was Dumbo Lemani, nobody took him seriously. He was not even arrested by the Mutharika administration.
Malawians may also leave to remember that day Dumbo Lemani started moving around with a blanket, toothpaste and a toothbrush. When asked, he said: "I have heard that the government [of Mutharika] wants to arrest me. So, I have prepared these items in readiness for a stint in prison. I am ready to go to prison!"
People thought he was joking. He was not.
During one of those days, I met him at Escom Power House in Blantyre and asked him: "Chief, are you, really, serious about going to prison. Why can't you give the shoe-shiners the toothbrush. They have perfected the toothbrush into a shoe-shining too, you know?"
But Dumbo said it was no time for jokes. These people are taking Malawians for granted. Where were they when we were fighting for multiparty democracy?"
I did not continue the discussion. I knew he was serious. And that he was serious because he was angry. And sad.
I did not know Dumbo Lemani much as a reverend. So, I will not about about that.
But I can talk of Dumbo Lemani as a sports man. And these are accounts I got from my father, Leviano Simon. Now, my father was a staunch supporter of Hardware Stars Football Club, and cared little about Mighty [now Be Forward] Wanderers and Bata [now Nyasa] Bullets.
But he remembers Dumbo Lemani, who used to be a Wanderers' team doctor in the 1980s.
My father [May His Soul Rest in Peace] fondly said of Lemani, a man he hardly knew: "Player wa Wanderers akavulala, amwenye onse ankakuwa kuti: Alowe a Dumbo Lemani! Alowe a Dumbo Lemani! [Whenever a Wanderers' player got injured, Malawians of Asian origin could shout: Let Dumbo Lemani get onto the pitch [to pay medical attention to the player]!"
Such was the magnetic nature of Dumbo Lemani!
He was so many things to so many people and will be remembered for many years to come.
As Parliamentarian for Zomba Thondwe Constituency, Dumbo Lemani did not beat about the bush. His radio jingles were accompanied by the following lyrics from the Nangalembe Brothers:
Mukanena za ine mutopa
Mukanena za ine
Za ine mutopa
Mukanena za ine eee
Za ine mutopa!
Tazingogwirani ntchitozo
Tazingogwirani ntchitozo
Mukanena za ine
Za ine
Mutopa
Mukanena za ine
Za ine mutopa [the task of talking about me will just tire you out! Concentrate on work!]
But, then, who are we not to talk of Dumbo Lemani?
Who are we not to remember him?
Surely, we ain't gonna get tired!
That giant heart, the white beards: Those were stilled by unappreciative death that day, leaving us stranded between fond and sad memories.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Prophet Mboro Has Got It Wrong on Malawians Mocking His Name
... There is no word called 'Mboro' in Chichewa
South African preacher, Paseka Motsoeneng, popularly known as Prophet Mboro, is in the news for his purported visit to heaven.
But that visit is not the focus today.
We are not evening talking of him selling the pictures apparently depicting him in 'heaven'.
For starters, Mboro is the leader of Church of Incredible Happenings. Recently, [and this is March 30 this year], the church's spokesperson is quoted by the BBC as saying that "the prophet did go to heaven" during an Easter church service and that while there "he took pictures" using his smartphone.
Mboro has gone to the extent of asking those who want the pictures to make a donation of 5,000 rand.
Well, as we said, that is not the issue today.
The issue is about Prophet Mboro complaining that Malawians are mocking his name which, as some foreign media put it, mean the private parts of a man in Chichewa, the most widely spoken language in Malawi.
Well, that is not true. Mboro does not mean private parts of a man in Chichewa. The Chichewa equivalent of the private parts of a man is 'Mbolo' [penis].
Actually, some people have tried to play around with my surname, leaving the Chi at the beginning of my surname and then juxtaposing the ro-mbo, making it 'Mboro'.
In their view, they think they are being sarcastic but they are not. The word 'Mboro' simply does not exist in Chichewa and has no meaning.
So, Prophet Mboro should rest assured. Theere is nothing wrong with his name. In fact, it is an innocent name.
It is the word 'Mbolo' that is a problem and an obscene word.
Rest assured, Mboro!
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Why Do Women Dump Babies?
A woman from Chiwembe Township, for whatever reason, decided to wake up in the middle of a lonely night on Friday [last night], grabbed her newly-born baby [two days old] and...no, she did not breast-feed the baby.
Instead of giving her the mother's warm milk, she took the baby to Limbe River. Yes, the polluted river in he middle of a lonely night on Friday.
The baby must have thought that it was in the hands of its lovely mother. Safe, warm and at ease. Well, the other had other plans.
She travelled a kilometre to Limbe River, threw the baby in the polluted waters, and-- without thinking twice-- rushed home.
Nobody knows what went on in her head-- that woman.
She had a baby. People, including her relatives and neighbours in Chiwembe, saw her with the baby and rejoiced.
But, then, the mother takes the baby to Limbe River, maybe thinking that all these people would not realise that there was a kid missing in the house, threw the baby home and, as cool as, I do not know what, went back home to embrace peaceful sleep.
Well, around 2pm on Saturday [today], people realised that there was a baby missing. They cornered the woman and the woman stumbled on her own words. They call it a confession.
She told them where she dumped the baby: Limbe River.
So, people from Chiwembe have been combing the river. To no avail.
They think the baby is dead.
Village Headman Chiwembe has just called the police.
When the police intervene, Zachimalawi will make the details of the mother available.
Back to the question: What factor would motivate a woman to dump her own baby?
Definitely, not love.
It must be pain-- great pain-- that forces women to dump their own babies!
Instead of giving her the mother's warm milk, she took the baby to Limbe River. Yes, the polluted river in he middle of a lonely night on Friday.
The baby must have thought that it was in the hands of its lovely mother. Safe, warm and at ease. Well, the other had other plans.
She travelled a kilometre to Limbe River, threw the baby in the polluted waters, and-- without thinking twice-- rushed home.
Nobody knows what went on in her head-- that woman.
She had a baby. People, including her relatives and neighbours in Chiwembe, saw her with the baby and rejoiced.
But, then, the mother takes the baby to Limbe River, maybe thinking that all these people would not realise that there was a kid missing in the house, threw the baby home and, as cool as, I do not know what, went back home to embrace peaceful sleep.
Well, around 2pm on Saturday [today], people realised that there was a baby missing. They cornered the woman and the woman stumbled on her own words. They call it a confession.
She told them where she dumped the baby: Limbe River.
So, people from Chiwembe have been combing the river. To no avail.
They think the baby is dead.
Village Headman Chiwembe has just called the police.
When the police intervene, Zachimalawi will make the details of the mother available.
Back to the question: What factor would motivate a woman to dump her own baby?
Definitely, not love.
It must be pain-- great pain-- that forces women to dump their own babies!
Friday, April 1, 2016
ESCOM Playing with Customers' Rights
The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) has embarked on an exercise aimed at hooking all customers to its pre-paid metre system.
The initiative is a welcome move, considering that some people like to use electricity but see no need to pay for it.
We have cases where some customers have tortured ESCOM officials whon have been sent to disconnect power due to non-payment. I remember a Naperi Township man in Blantyre who used to threaten ESCOM officials with his pistol.
However, ESCOM is failing its customers by just changing metres, even when the customer is not there, and leaving no information about the next steps to be taken by the customer.
In my case, I had a pre-paid metre that run out of units on Tuesday. So, I went to buy the units in Blantyre Central Business District.
However, when I returned home around 9pm, I discovered that my metre was nowhere to be seen. I slept in the dark.
The next day, my neighbour informed me that the ESCOM guys had brought a new pre-paid metre. My hope was that I would be able to use it that evening. It was never to be.
The pre-paid metres did not work and kept telling me that my transactions were invalid.
I slept in the dark for two consecutive days.
On Thursday, I went to the ESCOM branch in Limbe, where I was told to go back home, take my new prepaid card for 'opening'. I had to go back home and ferry the card. Actually, I spent half the day being taken through this process.
It's only yester-night that I had electricity back.
However, when I told the ESCOM officials that I had already bought 'new' units since I was a pre-paid customer, they said I could not get my units back. It is like I have put a drop of water in the ocean that is ESCOM.
In the first place, I find ESCOM's approach to be childish. They should inform customers about the next steps. After all, it is ESCOM, and not the customer, which has replaced our prepaid metres.
Secondly, I think ESCOM is practicing thievery. Why can't the rich ESCOM give back my units? I am not asking for money, but units, after all!
I do not think K5, 000 is peanuts for me to lose my units like that. ESCOM needs competitors!
The initiative is a welcome move, considering that some people like to use electricity but see no need to pay for it.
We have cases where some customers have tortured ESCOM officials whon have been sent to disconnect power due to non-payment. I remember a Naperi Township man in Blantyre who used to threaten ESCOM officials with his pistol.
However, ESCOM is failing its customers by just changing metres, even when the customer is not there, and leaving no information about the next steps to be taken by the customer.
In my case, I had a pre-paid metre that run out of units on Tuesday. So, I went to buy the units in Blantyre Central Business District.
However, when I returned home around 9pm, I discovered that my metre was nowhere to be seen. I slept in the dark.
The next day, my neighbour informed me that the ESCOM guys had brought a new pre-paid metre. My hope was that I would be able to use it that evening. It was never to be.
The pre-paid metres did not work and kept telling me that my transactions were invalid.
I slept in the dark for two consecutive days.
On Thursday, I went to the ESCOM branch in Limbe, where I was told to go back home, take my new prepaid card for 'opening'. I had to go back home and ferry the card. Actually, I spent half the day being taken through this process.
It's only yester-night that I had electricity back.
However, when I told the ESCOM officials that I had already bought 'new' units since I was a pre-paid customer, they said I could not get my units back. It is like I have put a drop of water in the ocean that is ESCOM.
In the first place, I find ESCOM's approach to be childish. They should inform customers about the next steps. After all, it is ESCOM, and not the customer, which has replaced our prepaid metres.
Secondly, I think ESCOM is practicing thievery. Why can't the rich ESCOM give back my units? I am not asking for money, but units, after all!
I do not think K5, 000 is peanuts for me to lose my units like that. ESCOM needs competitors!
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Malawians Should Celebrate Prophet Shepherd Bushiri
For once, Malawians need not look further to appreciate the fact that, like dust, anyone can rise with the winds of fortune and make it big in world where everything, including success, depends on one's own initiative.
Today, Malawians can just look at Prophet Shepherd Bushiri to know and realise that everything is possible.
Of course, Malawians -- most Malawians, that is-- have grown up believing that success comes on the premise of patients. Towing this line of thinking, most Malawians adopt a wait-and-see mode. Even when the world throws all the hard lessons on them, they wait, patiently, in the hope that, with patience, everything will fall into place.
Most often, their patience endures to a fault.
But that line of thinking is about to be taken out abandoned in Malawi-- for examples are plenty of people who have thrown the patience sleeping to the dogs and taken the path towards their destiny in their own hands.
Today, Malawians no longer have to look at others who are doing so well in other countries. They only need to take a quick look around the room to see that there is someone who is making the headlines for all the good reasons: Prophet Shepherd Bushiri.
To begin with, Bushiri's is a rags to riches story. No, not rags to riches story. It's a story from humility to greatness.
Bushiri, in his youth and school days, started off as a members of SCOM and participated in all the activities SCOM members participate in.
But he seems not to have believed that there is life after this life. It seems like he believed that people could make the best out of this life. He seems to have known that, by tooling the scriptures and living God's word [in other words, by seeking God's kingdom], everything would be added unto you-- and me!
And, so, he embarked on a journey to reach out to many souls. He did not have a prayer house of his own when he embarked on this spiritual journey. He did not even have a bicycle. All he had was faith; the faith that everything is possible with faith in God.
And, then, there was that break-through. By serving others, he ended up serving only himself because he is the one who reaped the blessings of preaching to people and reaching out of those craving for spiritual emancipation.
From fellowship, Bushiri saw his mission grow into a church.
Actually, Bushiri has become one of the richest prophets in the world because of something that happened when he went to share the word with a certain rich man who happened to have a mine.
The man, according to Bushiri, was prayed for and received his miracle. In the end, touched by the fact that what he thought was an irreversible condition had been reversed through prayer, the rich man sold Bushiri a mine at a very cheap price.
The miracle was much more than the mine.
"When I bought the mine, I sold it at twice the buying price and invested the money in other ventures," Bushiri confesses.
So, while he continued with his preaching, he also realised the importance of investing. In other words, he had become a preacher and businessman.
He has interests in mines, banking, education and, need I say, sports. He has a sporting academy in South Africa, he recently short the Flames-- the Malawi National Football Team-- in the arm by donating a whopping K44 million to the Flames. The funds were meant to help the Flames prepare for the away and return matches against Guinea last week and on Tuesday this week.
Now, the mistake people make is that of judging Bushiri as a prophet when they are referring to business issues and attacking Bushiri as a businessman when they are referring to business issues. It is like someone is jealous and does not want to see a fellow Malawian prospering.
But, then, Bushiri has shown to be a man who does not forget his roots.
Countless times, he has reached out to the most vulnerable and donated relief items.
Just this year, he distributed track-loads of maize flower to villagers struck by hunger in Ntcheu.
Last year, at the height of the Lower Shire floods that affected parts of Chikhwawa, Nsanje, and well as other districts [outside the Lower Shire] such as Mulanje, Bushiri was all over-- distributing clothes, food and what have you.
I happened to be one of the people on one of such trips to the Southern Region district of Chikhwawa, and I must say that I was impressed with the way Bushiri handled himself.
When we met at Chichiri Shopping Mall around 9 am, Bushiri greeted each one of us, and made us feel welcome. He was wearing a golf shirt while the people escorting him under the banner of Pentecostal pastors were wearing suits as heavy as an armor. It was clear that Bushiri was different.
In the Lower Shire, Bushiri personally distributed the relief items-- handing them over to the affected people. Definitely, he wanted them to reach the intended recipients.
It was a hot day, but Bushiri chose to be there and see to it that the materials that were being distributed reached out to the right people.
On our way back to Blantyre [needless to say in the evening], our vehicle broke down somewhere before Thabwa in Chikhwawa. Bushiri and other people were behind us. They found us eight minutes later and Bushiri personally stopped, disembarked from his vehicle and checked our vehicle. He wanted to know what the problem was.
When he was sure that the problem could not be fixed, he made sure to arrange for another means of transport because, apparently, he knew how important it was that we reach home.
In all this, he did not appear to be a pompous man. And he was still in his golf shirt.
So, really, I do not understand why people hate on him.
He is a man-- just like us-- trying to make the best out of his, and other people's lives.
The best we can do is appreciate that he is doing very well and that, if we work as hard as him, and be as diligent as him, we may get our rewards. Maybe a greater rewards than what he has received.
So, hate it or love it, Bushiri will not get poor, or stop preaching, because someone hates on him. Haters will, more likely, just feel more pain as Bushiri touches more people in his life.
As they say, there are more blessings in giving than receiving.
And Malawians can benefit more by blessing Bushiri than hating on him. In blessing others, we gain more [not forgetting peace of mind].
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Up in Flames: Flames' hopes!
Home ground advantage is a very tricky thing and it is the rare host who handles it well.
Today, the Malawi National Football Team, a.k.a. Flames, showed us that, even after close to 52 years of Malawi's independence, they are yet to learn the trick of handling foreign teams at the Kamuzu Stadium.
So, it was the same, old story: The Flames threw home ground advantage to the wind, gifted Guinea two preventable goals had the goalkeeper been at his best, and squandered their best opportunity to set feet on Gabon in 2017.
Well, I can understand why Malawi threw home ground advantage to the wind today. It is the coach!
Look here, the temperatures hovered above 25 degrees celsius at the Kamuzu Stadium and, yet, head coach Earnest Mtawali could manage to spot a heavy suit that forgettable afternoon. Probably, he did not want to 'feel' the wind that took Malawi's chances away!
To say the truth, the Malawi National Football Team did not tick this particular afternoon. Come to think of it, during the entire first half, The Flames attempted only one-- eer, shot? Pass?-- header in front of goal and, as luck would have it, the header was converted into a goal by one Chiukepo Msowoya.
The fans were up in the air as if they had wings!
And, then, The Flames blew the opportunities to go into recess with a goal advantage by allowing Guinea to score just when the fans were preparing to go for break.
That proved to be The Flames' undoing.
Maybe a word for the fans. Malawians do not know how to support their team, and only rise up when someone scores. Malawians cannot sing for their national team unless their is a goal or penalty. And the fans are, therefore, partly to blame for The Flames' dismal performances on home turf.
In the end, today-- and its forgetable business at the Kamuzu Stadium-- is gone. Tomorrow, the head coach should not wear an armor instead of a suit.
But, at least, you gave Malawians something to laugh about on a, rather, unproductive day for The Flames.
Malawi's chance of being party to the party in Gabon is gone. But nobody can stop the Malawian fan from going to Gabon to experience the wonderful feeling of being part of the game.
Today, the Malawi National Football Team, a.k.a. Flames, showed us that, even after close to 52 years of Malawi's independence, they are yet to learn the trick of handling foreign teams at the Kamuzu Stadium.
So, it was the same, old story: The Flames threw home ground advantage to the wind, gifted Guinea two preventable goals had the goalkeeper been at his best, and squandered their best opportunity to set feet on Gabon in 2017.
Well, I can understand why Malawi threw home ground advantage to the wind today. It is the coach!
Look here, the temperatures hovered above 25 degrees celsius at the Kamuzu Stadium and, yet, head coach Earnest Mtawali could manage to spot a heavy suit that forgettable afternoon. Probably, he did not want to 'feel' the wind that took Malawi's chances away!
To say the truth, the Malawi National Football Team did not tick this particular afternoon. Come to think of it, during the entire first half, The Flames attempted only one-- eer, shot? Pass?-- header in front of goal and, as luck would have it, the header was converted into a goal by one Chiukepo Msowoya.
The fans were up in the air as if they had wings!
And, then, The Flames blew the opportunities to go into recess with a goal advantage by allowing Guinea to score just when the fans were preparing to go for break.
That proved to be The Flames' undoing.
Maybe a word for the fans. Malawians do not know how to support their team, and only rise up when someone scores. Malawians cannot sing for their national team unless their is a goal or penalty. And the fans are, therefore, partly to blame for The Flames' dismal performances on home turf.
In the end, today-- and its forgetable business at the Kamuzu Stadium-- is gone. Tomorrow, the head coach should not wear an armor instead of a suit.
But, at least, you gave Malawians something to laugh about on a, rather, unproductive day for The Flames.
Malawi's chance of being party to the party in Gabon is gone. But nobody can stop the Malawian fan from going to Gabon to experience the wonderful feeling of being part of the game.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Of The Malawi Economy's 'Resurrection' and Easter
A falling Malawi Kwacha increases Malawi's sense of isolation.
This sense of isolation increases when the Malawi Kwacha staggers when pitted against other, relatively strong, economies right here in Africa. For instance, the South African Rand, which at one point traded shoulder-to-shoulder with the Malawi Kwacha in the good, old days, is miles away from the Malawi Kwacha. One really needs bags of banknotes just get the Kwacha equivalent of 50, 000 Rand.
We cannot talk of the United States Dollar, for a long time the measure of the Malawi Kwacha's strength, or weakness. I do not know why the Sterling Pound does not count much in a country which used to be under British rule. In January this year, one United States dollar sold at 700-plus kwacha.
HAS WIELDED SOME POWER: K500
Thing is, the Malawi Kwacha annually staggers in the run up to the Easter Holidays [which this year spanned from March 25 to March 28]. It is normal for the Kwacha to behave this way. After all, by this time, the foreign currencies in our reserves are depleted-- this being long after the tobacco sales.
Again, the situation is understandable because, by this time, subsistence and smallholders farmers keeping on hoping for a good harvest [maize, rice, sorghum] because the real crop is still in the field. There is hope, yes-- because the maize, sorghum, rice crop for that particular year can be seen. But everything ends there; at the hope stage. Until the crops are harvested, we cannot say the crops are as good as harvested!
BUYING LESS UNITED STATES DOLLARS: K1000 banknote
But, then, every year, the expected, but odd, development takes place. As Malawians-- who pride themselves in being a God-fearing people-- look forward to the Easter Holidays, they discover that the Kwacha has recovered somewhat, and that the economic situation is not as bad as it were a couple of months before.Come to think of it, the Malawi Kwacha is selling at 675 to one United States Dollar today, as opposed to the 700-plus figure one required to put their hand on a United States Dollar.
This is victory of some sort, and the experts say the kwacha behaves this way because the tobacco sales' season is on the cards. The trend has always been that the United States Dollars start trickling in ahead of the tobacco sales, thereby boosting the, otherwise, wobbling Malawi economy.
Ironically, according to economic commentator Henry Kachaje, the "Malawi Kwacha has been sick for decades".
So, it is not like the Malawi economy recovers in the run up to the Easter Holidays. It has never fully recovered "for decades" [to put Kachaje's observation in context].
But, at least, it gains something of its lost muscle, though the gains are just a fraction of what we may call success.
Back to the odd development that takes place annually. Why does the Malawi Kwacha's relative gain coincide with the Easter Holidays? Is it because Malawians are a God-fearing people?
Well, the truth is that the Malawi Kwacha recovers part of its lost clout due to a so-called evil: tobacco!
Tobacco kills. Tobacco makes people cough.
But the Malawi Kwacha does not die. The Malawi Kwacha does not cough.
NOW BUYING MORE: Malawi's banknotes -- Banknote pictures sourced from www.banknotes.com
It [instead] gets a lost part of itself [a part of a lost part of itself] back. And that time happens to coincide with the Easter Holidays [holidays celebrated because there was a resurrection-- Great Resurrection-- once]. And that time coincides with the onset of the tobacco sales season.
It is an odd fact that will keep on repeating itself. A fact that helps ease Malawi's [should we say the Malawi Kwacha's?] sense of isolation.
This sense of isolation increases when the Malawi Kwacha staggers when pitted against other, relatively strong, economies right here in Africa. For instance, the South African Rand, which at one point traded shoulder-to-shoulder with the Malawi Kwacha in the good, old days, is miles away from the Malawi Kwacha. One really needs bags of banknotes just get the Kwacha equivalent of 50, 000 Rand.
We cannot talk of the United States Dollar, for a long time the measure of the Malawi Kwacha's strength, or weakness. I do not know why the Sterling Pound does not count much in a country which used to be under British rule. In January this year, one United States dollar sold at 700-plus kwacha.
Thing is, the Malawi Kwacha annually staggers in the run up to the Easter Holidays [which this year spanned from March 25 to March 28]. It is normal for the Kwacha to behave this way. After all, by this time, the foreign currencies in our reserves are depleted-- this being long after the tobacco sales.
Again, the situation is understandable because, by this time, subsistence and smallholders farmers keeping on hoping for a good harvest [maize, rice, sorghum] because the real crop is still in the field. There is hope, yes-- because the maize, sorghum, rice crop for that particular year can be seen. But everything ends there; at the hope stage. Until the crops are harvested, we cannot say the crops are as good as harvested!
But, then, every year, the expected, but odd, development takes place. As Malawians-- who pride themselves in being a God-fearing people-- look forward to the Easter Holidays, they discover that the Kwacha has recovered somewhat, and that the economic situation is not as bad as it were a couple of months before.Come to think of it, the Malawi Kwacha is selling at 675 to one United States Dollar today, as opposed to the 700-plus figure one required to put their hand on a United States Dollar.
This is victory of some sort, and the experts say the kwacha behaves this way because the tobacco sales' season is on the cards. The trend has always been that the United States Dollars start trickling in ahead of the tobacco sales, thereby boosting the, otherwise, wobbling Malawi economy.
Ironically, according to economic commentator Henry Kachaje, the "Malawi Kwacha has been sick for decades".
So, it is not like the Malawi economy recovers in the run up to the Easter Holidays. It has never fully recovered "for decades" [to put Kachaje's observation in context].
Back to the odd development that takes place annually. Why does the Malawi Kwacha's relative gain coincide with the Easter Holidays? Is it because Malawians are a God-fearing people?
Well, the truth is that the Malawi Kwacha recovers part of its lost clout due to a so-called evil: tobacco!
Tobacco kills. Tobacco makes people cough.
But the Malawi Kwacha does not die. The Malawi Kwacha does not cough.
It [instead] gets a lost part of itself [a part of a lost part of itself] back. And that time happens to coincide with the Easter Holidays [holidays celebrated because there was a resurrection-- Great Resurrection-- once]. And that time coincides with the onset of the tobacco sales season.
It is an odd fact that will keep on repeating itself. A fact that helps ease Malawi's [should we say the Malawi Kwacha's?] sense of isolation.
Sunday, March 27, 2016
One Pre-Democracy Incident That Symbolised Malawi's Communal Spirit
The ceiling of togetherness seems to have dropped so low that it is hard to think of life beyond oneself. I mean, so many people are living for themselves these days.
Come to think of it. Malawians have, all along, lived a communal life, before the spirit of individualism swept the communal spirit that characterised life among generations gone-by away, and replaced it with ‘everyone-by-themselves attitude.
In those days [I mean, pre-democracy days], no one would go hungry when the neighbour had a handful of flour.
In those days, a woman who, somehow, ‘allowed’ their children to go missing were being whipped so hard that they went crouched like a rabbit. I witnessed one such incident as a kid in Salima District in 1992. A woman [I do not recall her name] lost her child and the child was found loitering around at Kamuzu Road.
The Malawi Congress Party chairperson for the area, Kunkeyani Kaliveni Betha, took the child to his house, summoned elders from Chiphala Village, who sent for the mother. The mother was ordered to remove her top clothes, whereupon the elders descended on her— whipping her with small tree branches they could get hold of.
The helpless lady cried and cried, but the men could not take pity on her. Other women, angry with their friend for being so careless that she could lose sight of her own kid, watched close by, clearly in support of the men.
After ten minutes, the woman’s back was a sorry sight. Print marks were all over, and blood, too. She had paid for the sins of her child [Is this not the reason we celebrate Mothers Day?]!
Well, the woman went back home with her kid.
And I knew she would beat that kid to pulp back home. Call it a woman’s revenge!
In this case, the community played the role of custodian. Here was time when each one [as someone put it about Malawi] knew everyone else.
Fast-forward to this hour and things have changed.
Of course, change is good though, sometimes, it may be so rapid that others cannot keep pace with life.
A good case in point is one Egyptian novelist who stopped writing because his subject— the Egyptian man and woman— was changing fast!
In Malawi today, we can say the Egyptian case is playing itself out.
When thieves invade a house, neighbours hide their own skins as terror plays itself out.
In low density areas such as Namiwawa in Blantyre, children live behind brick fenses that offer no view of the outside world. They no longer play hide and seek games. They no longer celebrate when the moon casts her light on mother Malawi.
In the process, the communal spirit we cherished is gone— buried under the rubble of democracy!
Today, it is hard to look at the Malawian, or at the selfishness each one wears as a robe, without
a creeping wonder: Where is the communal spirit gone?
The gulf between the races stays unabridged. The gulf between voters and their representatives stays unabridged.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Development at a Snail's Pace
Sub-Traditional Authority Govati of Mwanza does not remember the last time he saw a wild elephant in the district. Yet, every time he steps out of his house, another type of elephant awaits him: The white elephant!
“We have a lot of white elephants in Mwanza. From Thambani, which falls in my area, and other faraway places, we simply have so many of these. Politics seems to have perpetuated the trend,” Govati says.
FOR TRANSPARENCY IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: Lapozo
Of course, he is referring to uncompleted projects, and not necessarily elephants with ‘white’ skin. After all, according to www.marylandzoo.org, elephants only have “gray” and “wrinkled” skin. The website adds that elephants are known as pachyderms, along with hippos and rhinos, a name derived from the Latin words for “thick” and “skin” (‘derm’) to literally mean “thick-skin”.
To strengthen his case, Govati cites uncompleted houses marked for teachers and healthcare service delivery workers.
“We have a situation at Thambani (Trading Centre) where two houses meant for health workers have remained uncompleted for years. Again, at Kalanga Primary School, a teacher’s house built through the efforts of the Area Development Committee (ADC) has not reached window level some three, four years after the project begun,” Govati says.
Govati says other abandoned projects include a gravity water project that has remained a pipedream even after the commencement of ground work.
Unfortunately, Govati’s subjects are not the only ones affected as Inkosi Kanduku can testify of having his fair share of white elephants.
Kanduku says one of the hardest hit sectors is education, where learners have to cover a distance of between five and 10 kilometres to get to the nearest learning facility because the schools in their area do not meet minimum standards.
“For example, we have the case of Futsa Community Day Secondary School. Construction of a school block, courtesy of the European Union, started in 2009 but, up to now, nobody knows when the school will open its doors to our children because there is no tangible progress. In fact, some people are using the school block as a hall,” Kanduku says.
But the Ngoni chief puts his foot down on suggestions that education officials should open the school to learners, saying it is better for community members to hold their breaths until the facility meets minimum standards other than expose their children to a deplorable learning environment.
However, the decision to keep the block closed to learners has come at a cost as learners from neighbouring areas such as Tulonkhondo have to cover a distance of more than eight kilometres to access education facilities at Thawale Community Day Secondary School in the district.
Stitch in time
Fortunately for Mwanza residents, Dan Church Aid, with support from Tilitonse Fund, has come to their rescue, thanks to the ‘Collaborative Action in Strengthening Local Governance Project’ being implemented by the Association of Progressive Women (APW).
Concerned with increased cases of abandoned projects, APW invited community members to consultative forums and mobilisation meetings in a quest to shape community perspectives and understanding around key development issues between the month of February and March this year. These efforts culminated in a number of community dialogues taking place with various community leaders in following up the unfinished or stalled projects.
“Among other things, we discovered that there is lack of coordination at various levels of government, which suffocates patriotism and community ownership to project implementation. There is also little coordination between the Central Government and District Councils in drawing up development plans and annual budgets,” Grace Moyo, the project officer, says, adding:
“There are also inadequate resources for councils to help build capacity of the Village Development Committees (VDC) and ADCs, training of traditional leaders on their new roles in democratic governance, coupled with deficiency in policy analysis, advocacy and low education levels. Deficiencies in coordination between these levels of governance are clearly demonstrated in the manner in which communities handled all these stalled and unfinished projects.”
Moyo observes that citizen influence has been generally low with their inputs having only peripheral effects in effecting positive change.
Her sentiments are echoed by programme manager, Noel Msiska, who cites a case in Kanduku’s area.
Msiska says community members, through the VDC, proposed the construction of a bridge over a drift at Mkwilira River in a bid to address mobility problems faced by the pupils and residents around Dzomodya, Mbirizi, Mtaya, Butao and Kumpakiza villages during the rainy season.
He said the proposal was accepted by the Mwanza District Council and construction materials started arriving at the project site after community members had contributed sand and stones. The Council, he said, recruited its own contractor without thorough consultations with the ADC and VDC and the project took off.
“However, the ADC members, who were providing oversight monitoring, observed that, out of 50 bags of cement meant for the project, only 15 were used in electing the foundation of the bridge. As a result, construction works stalled and the communities still suspect that the rest of the construction materials, particularly cement, were taken up by the contractor who just left the project at foundation stage and they can hardly locate him. They wonder that the council is not holding him accountable for the unfinished project,” says Msiska.
Apart from these projects, the other notable projects that have been unnecessarily delayed or stalled altogether include the Muwanga Okhota Schools Development initiative where community members proposed the construction of a modern school block; Chidokowe Primary School, a Standard 1 to 6 learning facility that has only one block; Golden Village clean water project; Chifunga Police Unit; Ziyaya Chidole School Project, and; Kunenekude Police Unit construction, among others.
Msiska contends that challenges faced by Mwanza residents are not unique to the district, raising concerns that failure to complete projects seems to be a nationwide malaise.
He suggests that the Malawi government should engage an expert team to conduct an assessment study on all uncompleted projects in Malawi and make recommendations on how government can recover costs from such projects. He adds that legislation and the funding mechanism systems of the Constituency Development Fund and the Local Development Fund should also be reviewed.
“There is also need to implement measures such as increasing access to information at district level, simplifying reports to give all residents the opportunity to offer scrutiny, promoting open bidding for contracts, using agreed monitoring tools and promoting equal presentation of local leaders at district level to bring about transparency and accountability at all levels of governance,” says Msiska.
He adds that there is need to build the capacity of village monitoring committees in project monitoring, budget tracking and governance for them to be able to demand satisfaction of development projects within their localities, as well as reviewing the Local Government Act and Decentralization Policy.
Recurrent business
Mwanza District Commissioner, Gift Lapozo, says, under normal circumstances, councils act as engines of development by creating policies, mobilizing technical and financial resources in their bid to ensure that resources are well-utilised in advancing the development agenda.
Lapozo also says, under normal circumstances, public projects are not supposed to hit a snag on the basis that Members of Parliament (MP), or councilors, who initiated them have been voted out of office.
“Government is a growing concern: It doesn’t change; if anything, it’s the faces that change. So, if the government is a growing concern, why do development projects initiated by MPs stall once they are voted out of office and yet we say development derives from the people? It’s like kugwiritsa anthu ntchito yopanda malipiro (letting people toil in vain),” laments Lapozo.
Lapozo expresses concern that some stalled projects started as way back as 2010.
“These development projects just need funding. Piecemeal development approaches are catalysts for poverty, illiteracy. Let’s find out and discuss the way forward so that the newly-elected ward councilors can work smoothly. It’s time to share, to rectify problems and complete all stalled projects,” Lapozo says.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Moving in Circles
September 24, 2011 is such a long time.
But, in the anonymity of government officials minds, the year 2011— which gets buried under the pile of history every passing year— holds no special memories. It is just one of those ordinary years.
This seems to be the line of thinking when it comes to the issue of— yes, your guess is as good as mine— the slain University of Malawi student, Robert Chasowa.
On September 24, 2011, Chasowa’s body [whose only ‘sin’ [to the public officials, of course] was to combine activism with academic endeavours, lay motionless on the, hitherto, inconsequential pavement at The Malawi Polytechnic— a constituent college of the University of Malawi.
He had, apparently, been forced to embrace death’s cold arms by people who do not deserve to have peace of mind.
The government, apparently ‘concerned’, instituted a Commission of Enquiry that would bring hidden truths to the fore. Well, the Commission of Enquiry did its job compiled and presented a report of its findings.
On another day, I would have talked about the painstaking delays that have marred the death of that young man Chasowa. But I choose to concentrate on what I saw that September 24, 2011 bright day.
I happened to be one of the Continuing Education Centre [an arm of The University of Malawi] week-end classes’ students at The Malawi Polytechnic [well, I do not like the term ‘The Malawi Polytechnic’; I think The Polytechnic is what the one who said The Malawi Polytechnic meant to say] then.
And I happened to be on campus on the said September 24. As it were, our class [make-shift class that is; for The Polytechnic is notorious for lacking learning space] happened to be the first floor above the spot where Chasowa’s body lay.
Well, we did not learn that day. Sorrow washed through the campus like a rain cloud. Tempers flared. Fuelling this sadness was the blood of Chasowa, which took some time to dry because— maybe— it wanted to foreshadow the fact that Chasowa’s issue would never die a natural death.
People – meaning, those responsible— may have wished Chasowa away. But the tide of public opinion has always been against burying so blatant an injustice under the rubble of bygones.
I visited the scene of the gruesome act of shame today afternoon. The concrete stone students erected inches away from the scene of that horrible act is gone. The blood, repeatedly washed away by rains, is gone.
But the memories simply cannot be washed away.
And, maybe, justice will not be wished, and washed, away.
Who Will Control The Police?
In one moment, the place was buzzing with activity. In the next, it lay in a mist silence, forced into this corner of silence by heavily-armed police officers who had invaded the place from Lilongwe Police Station.
Some people hid in the washrooms while others were being forced to palm-oil some of the police officers who were demanding K2, 000. In one corner, a police officer was beating a woman whose sin was, apparently, to be found in a place duly licenced to operate in that hour. By the way, the time was 01: 18 am. It was Thursday, March 3 this year.
I wanted to join the others and run away, too, but I quickly realised that although I entertained thoughts of running away, I could only go as far as [or run away into] my own mind. I also realised that I could not desert my two Zambian friends who had invited me to this place because they wanted to sample life in Lilongwe.
The scenes I am describing played themselves out at Culture Club [Chigwirizano] in Lilongwe on March 3. It is this month but it looks like yester-year. I had gone to Lilongwe to fulfil some assignments on February 29 and was supposed to travel back to Blantyre on March 3, in time for what remained of my assignments there.
My plan was to travel to Blantyre during the night of March 2 [Wednesday] but my plans were foiled when we arrived in Lilongwe very late. One of our crew suggested that we visit the City Centre and it was there that I bumped into some two Zambian journalist-friends I first bumped into in 2008 at a World Bank-funded Business Reporting Workshop held in Blantyre.
As it were, the two Zambian journalists were in the country to cover food security issues. I told my two friends that I was travelling back to Blantyre the next day, in time to finish the assignments I was remaining with.
Well, from the look of things, the two friends invited me to join them at Culture Club, where they “will shower you with soft drinks all night”. Reluctantly, knowing it had been a long time since 2008, I accepted.
We arrived at Culture Club around 10 pm and the two friends really showered me with soft drinks till my stomach ached.
Then, around 01: 18 am [March 3], all hell broke loose as uniformed police officers stormed the scene and started arresting people and beating unfortunate ones. They said the people on the premises had been arrested for rogue and vagabond. In fact, they even arrested some workers at Culture Club on the same charge: Rogue and vagabond.
I counted the police officers and I came to a figure of 16. Their leader came towards where we were, handcuffs in hand, and commanded us to stand up. They said we were under arrest for being found at Culture Club during that ‘ungodly’ hour.
Two more police officers joined him, and asked for K2, 000 if we were to be left untouched. I could see some imbibers ‘paying’ K2, 000 to buy their freedom while the unfortunate ones were bundled to waiting police vehicles parked just outside the club.
Together, the three police officers demanded that I and my Zambian friends pay K2, 000 per head “for us not to arrest you; otherwise, we will take you to Lilongwe Police Station”.
I knew deep down my heart that I would not pay that amount. This is because, in my understanding, Culture Club is supposed to operate from 8 o’clock in the evening to the early hours. During the day, the place is closed for business because, in my understanding, the Lilongwe City Council issued a license to the owners to operate from 8: 00 pm to the early hours of the morning. In fact, they can operate up to 6: 00 am if they choose to.
And, in line with my line of thinking, one of the managers challenged the police officers, telling them what they were doing was contravening the very rules they are supposed to enforce. He even rushed to one room, got a Lilongwe City Council certificate and another certificate permitting them to sell the kind of stuff they sell, but the police officers had none of it.
In fact, in defiance, they arrested one more worker from Culture Club, saying they were mandated by law to arrest those found loitering aimlessly.
I joined the manager in arguing against the action of the police who, in my view, were doing what they were doing out of ignorance and, for lack of a better word, due to unprofessionalism.
For a moment, stood up and followed the police officer who was leading his colleagues to tell him that what they were doing was unprofessional and uncalled them. I told him there was no way they could arrest people on premises that were duly licenced to operate from 8: 00 pm to the early hours of the next day.
Instead of listening to the voice of reason, he ordered his friends: “Arrest this one, too. Rogue and vagabond”. I could not imagine myself in a police cell for being found at the right place at the right time and, so, I rushed to the washrooms and locked myself there until an hour later.
I do not know where my Zambian friends went. Worse still, I did not have their phone numbers. Maybe they were picked. But I am sure they ‘bought’ their’ way out.
This experience has taught me one thing. We still have bad apples in the police. Otherwise, how on earth could they violate the right of business persons duly licensed to operate a night club, and get away with it?
It is a shame that the police officers behaved as if Malawi were a police state and this should not be allowed to happen in a free country like ours. I am sure the club lost out [in terms of money] that night and, yet, the police officers who did this were, probably, not even reprimanded by their bosses.
I think the police believe that they own this country, and that is why they sometimes behave contrary to citizens’ expectations. But, in an ideal world, such excesses need to be checked!
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
The Sad Thing About Mzuzu Violence
The violence that marred a political meeting in Mzuzu recently is a reminder,yet again, that some politicians confuse democracy for freedom to do whatever they want. And this, again, serves as a reminder that Malawi has a long way to go.
Well,on Monday I went to Mzuzu City and, checking the business outlets, I could not find any machetes. I was told 219 machetes had been bought during the previous three days before the violence.
As it turns out, machetes,which are innocent tools used for bad purposes, have become the hottest selling property in Mzuzu.
Well,on Monday I went to Mzuzu City and, checking the business outlets, I could not find any machetes. I was told 219 machetes had been bought during the previous three days before the violence.
As it turns out, machetes,which are innocent tools used for bad purposes, have become the hottest selling property in Mzuzu.
Friday, March 18, 2016
The More Things Change...
It has not been a good for the governing Democratic Progressive Party administration.
In the end, the government side, which was supposed to behave as a warrior worth its salt by standing on the side of people, ended up creating the picture that it is a side that busies itself in shooting down worthwhile initiatives for the sake of maintaining the status quo.
Come to think of it. In fourteen days, the government side has put itself in an uncomfortable position by rejecting amendments to the Corrupt Practices Act; the President, who plays the cards in the ruling party, has refused to respond to questions from Members of Parliament in Parliament.
The only good news is that both ruling party and opposition Members of Parliament seem to agree with suggestions that the office of the Auditor General should be more independent than is the case now. But, again, the ruling party side sees uncomfortable with suggestions that the Auditor General should be appointed through the Public Appointments Committee.
However, since the issue of President Peter Mutharika refusing to appear before Parliament has been dealt with in previous posts, let us concentrate on the issue of the Corrupt Practices Act.
The Corrupt Practices Act has been at the centre of debate in Malawi for some time. There are two schools of though: one [school of thought] advances the argument that the Corrupt Practices Act is a blue-print watered down by Executive excesses, and; the other school of thought argues that the Corrupt Practices Act is okay in its current form.
Now, those who tow the first line argue that the Executive arm of the government is still very much in control of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and calls the shorts when it comes to the Anti-Corruption Bureau's decision-making processes. They say the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau is appointed by the President, which, in essence, makes them the President's Boy or Girl!
However, those who advance the second line of thinking argue that things are okay as they are, and they cite cases where serving government officials have faced the long hand of the law. A good case in point is that of former Cabinet minister, Yusuf Mwawa.
It seems like Lilongwe South West Member of Parliament, Peter Chakhwantha, is on the side of those who believe that the Anti-Corruption Bureau should not be tinted by the President's shenanigans. The legislator, therefore, wanted Parliament to amend Section 5 and Section 7 of the Corrupt Practices Act.
The sections in question gives the President the mandate to appoint the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Chakhwantha, like most of the opposition Members of Parliament, wants the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament to usurp that role. But that is not all theere is to the changes; Chakhwantha also wants transparency in coming up with names of those qualified to head the Anti-Corruption Bureau by advertising the post.
It did not come as a surprise to learn that, the amendments were shot down in the committee stage of the bill.
In the end, the government side, which was supposed to behave as a warrior worth its salt by standing on the side of people, ended up creating the picture that it is a side that busies itself in shooting down worthwhile initiatives for the sake of maintaining the status quo.
Come to think of it. In fourteen days, the government side has put itself in an uncomfortable position by rejecting amendments to the Corrupt Practices Act; the President, who plays the cards in the ruling party, has refused to respond to questions from Members of Parliament in Parliament.
The only good news is that both ruling party and opposition Members of Parliament seem to agree with suggestions that the office of the Auditor General should be more independent than is the case now. But, again, the ruling party side sees uncomfortable with suggestions that the Auditor General should be appointed through the Public Appointments Committee.
However, since the issue of President Peter Mutharika refusing to appear before Parliament has been dealt with in previous posts, let us concentrate on the issue of the Corrupt Practices Act.
The Corrupt Practices Act has been at the centre of debate in Malawi for some time. There are two schools of though: one [school of thought] advances the argument that the Corrupt Practices Act is a blue-print watered down by Executive excesses, and; the other school of thought argues that the Corrupt Practices Act is okay in its current form.
Now, those who tow the first line argue that the Executive arm of the government is still very much in control of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and calls the shorts when it comes to the Anti-Corruption Bureau's decision-making processes. They say the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau is appointed by the President, which, in essence, makes them the President's Boy or Girl!
However, those who advance the second line of thinking argue that things are okay as they are, and they cite cases where serving government officials have faced the long hand of the law. A good case in point is that of former Cabinet minister, Yusuf Mwawa.
It seems like Lilongwe South West Member of Parliament, Peter Chakhwantha, is on the side of those who believe that the Anti-Corruption Bureau should not be tinted by the President's shenanigans. The legislator, therefore, wanted Parliament to amend Section 5 and Section 7 of the Corrupt Practices Act.
The sections in question gives the President the mandate to appoint the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Chakhwantha, like most of the opposition Members of Parliament, wants the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament to usurp that role. But that is not all theere is to the changes; Chakhwantha also wants transparency in coming up with names of those qualified to head the Anti-Corruption Bureau by advertising the post.
It did not come as a surprise to learn that, the amendments were shot down in the committee stage of the bill.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Chakwera, Others, Expected Too Much from President Peter Mutharika
Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Lazarus Chakwera, must have expected the moon on earth when he asked the President, Peter Mutharika, to set his feet in Parliament and respond to questions four opposition Members of Parliament directed at him.
After all, no democratic president in recent memory [some people confuse former president, Bakili Muluzi's brief presence in Parliament as a rare moment when a sitting Head of State stepped into Parliament to respond to legislators' questions. How wrong!] has honoured people's expectations and appeared before Parliament.
So, it came as a surprise to learn that Chakwera, Mzimba South West legislator and former Vice-President Khumbo Kachali, Rumphi East legislator Kamlepo Kalua and Nkhotakota South East legislator Makowa Mwale had sent questions to the President.
According to Standing Order 70, legislators are required to send their questions to the President through the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly [of course, Malawi does not have a National Assembly, in the absence of a Senate-- and this is according to human rights activist Marcel Chisi]. The legislators duly followed the procedures and expected nothing short of the President's presence in Parliament.
But, as has sadly been the case in Malawi, the legislators' wish did not materialise. The President-- to comfortable to be taken out of his comfort zone by mere legislators] decided to delegate.
And, as expected, Chakwera is not pleased and has, again, as expected, simply withdrawn his question. Chakwera says he will ask the questions again once the President indicates that he is ready to appear in Parliament. What wishful thinking!
Chakwera, on one hand, knows pretty well that the president will never avail himself.
The President is a clever man-- if dodging legitimate questions has anything to do with democracy-- and will make it impossible for legislators to corner him and drag him to Parliament. The President may not be ready to face Kalua in Parliament. He may drag his feet when the prospect of meeting Chakwera in a public forum like Parliament is about to be realised.
The President knows that falling for legislators' trick to avail himself in Parliament would be putting himself in Chakwera's hands. And Chakwera may become the master of the game, throwing the President this and that way at his [Chakwera's] will before citizens of this country. The MPs represent the people, after all. Chakwera's hands are like a rock.
Of course, by denying the people of this country [through the MPs] a chance to get answers from the President himself, President Mutharika has played into Chakwera's hands. He has cast himself as a coward, and people may take long to forget this-- especially when hunger is stinging in the stomach and the economy operates on its own terms, other than according to Reserve Bank of Malawi monetary policies.
But that the better option for the President. It is easy, and painless, for the President to snub Chakwera just like that. Over time, as former president Muluzi rightly observed, "Malawians forget very quickly". Appearing in Parliament is like being caught by the raging waves of Lake Malawi.
Otherwise, the President would have fallen into Chakwera's trap by accepting to appear before predictable opposition legislators. Actually, the opposition legislators are predictable; they are out to get at the President. Embarrass him if they can.
And President Mutharika seems not ready for that spectacle. So, maybe it is a fair game for now.
What is needed, though, is for Malawians to fight a way out of presidential rebuffs like these. They do democracy no good.
After all, no democratic president in recent memory [some people confuse former president, Bakili Muluzi's brief presence in Parliament as a rare moment when a sitting Head of State stepped into Parliament to respond to legislators' questions. How wrong!] has honoured people's expectations and appeared before Parliament.
So, it came as a surprise to learn that Chakwera, Mzimba South West legislator and former Vice-President Khumbo Kachali, Rumphi East legislator Kamlepo Kalua and Nkhotakota South East legislator Makowa Mwale had sent questions to the President.
According to Standing Order 70, legislators are required to send their questions to the President through the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly [of course, Malawi does not have a National Assembly, in the absence of a Senate-- and this is according to human rights activist Marcel Chisi]. The legislators duly followed the procedures and expected nothing short of the President's presence in Parliament.
But, as has sadly been the case in Malawi, the legislators' wish did not materialise. The President-- to comfortable to be taken out of his comfort zone by mere legislators] decided to delegate.
And, as expected, Chakwera is not pleased and has, again, as expected, simply withdrawn his question. Chakwera says he will ask the questions again once the President indicates that he is ready to appear in Parliament. What wishful thinking!
Chakwera, on one hand, knows pretty well that the president will never avail himself.
The President is a clever man-- if dodging legitimate questions has anything to do with democracy-- and will make it impossible for legislators to corner him and drag him to Parliament. The President may not be ready to face Kalua in Parliament. He may drag his feet when the prospect of meeting Chakwera in a public forum like Parliament is about to be realised.
The President knows that falling for legislators' trick to avail himself in Parliament would be putting himself in Chakwera's hands. And Chakwera may become the master of the game, throwing the President this and that way at his [Chakwera's] will before citizens of this country. The MPs represent the people, after all. Chakwera's hands are like a rock.
Of course, by denying the people of this country [through the MPs] a chance to get answers from the President himself, President Mutharika has played into Chakwera's hands. He has cast himself as a coward, and people may take long to forget this-- especially when hunger is stinging in the stomach and the economy operates on its own terms, other than according to Reserve Bank of Malawi monetary policies.
But that the better option for the President. It is easy, and painless, for the President to snub Chakwera just like that. Over time, as former president Muluzi rightly observed, "Malawians forget very quickly". Appearing in Parliament is like being caught by the raging waves of Lake Malawi.
Otherwise, the President would have fallen into Chakwera's trap by accepting to appear before predictable opposition legislators. Actually, the opposition legislators are predictable; they are out to get at the President. Embarrass him if they can.
And President Mutharika seems not ready for that spectacle. So, maybe it is a fair game for now.
What is needed, though, is for Malawians to fight a way out of presidential rebuffs like these. They do democracy no good.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Why The Malawi Government is Behaving Like a Diminutive Creature
By its very nature, the government— any government— is supposed to be a giant looming over tiny citizens. For all intents and purposes, the government— any government— is supposed to run the shots.
Not the Malawi Government!
From the word go— the moment President Peter Mutharika discarded the cloak of ‘ordinary citizen’ to adopt the all-powerful name of President , he has been behaving like a man struggling to shrug off the shadow of nobody knows who! But, definitely, the shadow that looms over the supposedly all-knowing President is not that of former, temporary, president Joyce Banda. For Banda, may she eat enough today wherever she may be, fears her own shadow!
But there is a shadow President Peter [the name Peter is being repeated to avoid us confusing the President with that other president who smiles at us from beyond our reach] Mutharika fears— a shadow that, probably, forces him to turn his Cabinet ministers into reactionary forces up to, no apologies for this description, some no-good.
Look, since President Peter Mutharika took over the joystick of power after the May 22, 2016 elections [it is difficult to know whether we can ably call those elections the ‘May 22 Tripartite Elections’, for they took almost forever [before the tearful Malawi Electoral Commission Chairperson, Justice Maxon Mbendera made the announcement the opposition loves to hate, after Justice Kenyatta Nyirenda forced the hand of the Malawi Electoral Commission on the issue], his administration has quickly adopted this idea of responding to every media reports that casts the government in negative light.
If the government is not responding to former president Joyce Banda’s outbursts, some Cabinet Assessment, or civil society organisations’ threats to hold demonstrations against government’s failure to arrest an economy on a free-fall, then it is responding to media comments about the media’s perception of President Peter Mutharika’s unwillingness to appear before ‘harmless’ members of Parliament and respond to ‘harmless’ questions.
Today [March 15], the government— through the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs— has seen it fit to be at it again.
When fear is in high supply due to reports of hunger all over the place [truthfully, though, hunger is not all over the place. I was in the Central Region districts of Mchinji and Kasungu two weeks ago, and I saw the promises that the land in these two districts has made to the farmers: They will have a good harvest], and when the country is running low on hope, the government still finds the time to indulge in the pleasure of writing hastily-written, redundant press releases.
If the purpose of the press statements is not to persuade citizens to change their rational way of thinking and embrace blind patriotism, then, surely, it [the purpose of the press statements] is to assure itself [the government machinery] that it is still in control, and that there are still people out there who can listen to it!
Otherwise, the press statements have become so routine that they serve no purpose.
But, at the same time, they serve a purpose. More than anything else, the purpose is to ‘assure’ Malawians that, contrary to the picture they have— the picture of a government so in touch with current affairs that no one can beat it hands down; the picture that the government is an all-knowing ‘human-being’ who looms over all national affairs, fears and hopes inclusive— the truth is that their government has become a ‘being’ so diminutive that it has been dwarfed by the complexity of the problems the nation is facing.
Need we talk about hunger, economic meltdown [though the kwacha has, of late, been picking up its own pieces, to the chagrin of tobacco farmers who see their investment being eroded by every muscle the kwacha gains], hunger— which has fuelled cholera cases [indeed, for the first time in as many years, we see the health system failing to control the outbreak]— a health system run down by drug shortages that it exists only in name, government’s reluctance to embrace Access to Information [as seen by its watering down of the ATI Draft Bill, among others? No. This is work for another day.
But, when the government grows so afraid of the voice of its own citizens and media that it reduces its core function to issuing press statements, citizens have reasons to worry. Worry, yes, because it means the government is afraid of setting the wheel of democracy run free. And such behaviour is precisely undemocratic.
Those who may wish to go through the government’s latest piece of madness, here is the press statement released today.
PRESS STATEMENT
THE PRESIDENT CAN DELEGATE HIS FUNCTIONS AND POWERS
The Daily Times and the Nation Newspapers today, the 15th March 2016, carried articles entitled: “Mutharika dodges MPs’ questions” ...; and, “Mutharika refuses to answer MPs’ questions....”. The stories in both newspapers are quoting the announcement which the Speaker of the National Assembly, Rt. Hon. Richard Msowoya made in the National Assembly to the effect that the President had delegated to the respective line Ministers the questions which had been asked by some Members of Parliament pursuant to Section 89(4) of the Constitution. The Nation Newspaper, has gone to the extent of imputing that by such delegation, the President has flouted the Constitution which he swore to uphold.
Section 89 of the Constitution deals with powers, duties and functions of the President. Sub-sections (3) and (4) of that Section provide for questions to the President. Section 89(6) of the same Constitution expressly states that “the powers and functions of the President shall be exercised by him or her personally or by a member of the Cabinet or by a Government official to whom the President has delegated such power in writing.”
While the Constitution is clear that there are certain specific powers and functions which can only be exercised by the President alone, it does not restrict the President from delegating some of those functions if he chooses to do so. In the case of the questions which were asked by the Members of Parliament, it is clear that the responses to them can best be provided by the line Ministers. The President was, therefore, perfectly entitled to delegate to the said Ministers, and in doing so, he was acting within law. Indeed, it is inconceivable to expect that the President would be able to deal with each and every issue or question personally. Hence, delegation is a necessary part of his Constitutional functions because it affords him the opportunity to deal with other equally important matters of State.
With respect to the Parliamentary questions, the Business Committee fully appreciated that the President could delegate his functions. Standing Orders 70 and 201 of the National Assembly regulate the manner in which questions to the President are handled. Except for questions under Section 89(3) (c) of the Constitution, Standing Order 201 leaves open the possibility for the President to delegate.
Government is, therefore, appealing to all those who comment on matters of public interest to do so in a manner that is fair and accurate. Quoting one provision of the Constitution in isolation from the other similar provisions has the potential to mislead the masses. Fairness demands that those who have the podium to comment on public issues must do so in a manner which is balanced. To interpret the Speaker’s announcement that the President had delegated the Ministers to answer his questions as a refusal by the President is grossly misleading.
Made this 15th Day of March at Capital Hill, Lilongwe.
SAMUEL BATSON TEMBENU
MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Why Can't Vice President Saulos Chilima Represent The President in Parliament?
Malawian leaders are an interesting lot, but seem clueless when faced with Members of Parliament intend on holding the leaders accountable for whatever decision they make.
And it is apparent that at no time do the leaders’ fears come to the fore than when they are summoned by Members of Parliament.
In post-1994 Malawi, it has become impossible for leaders to be held accountable through that forum of the people [through their Members of Parliament, of course]: Parliament.
Former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, never availed himself to legislators to respond to their questions. Joyce Banda was no different and no one expects President Peter Mutharika to be any different.
But our leaders’ position on the issue of appearing before legislators armed with the sole purpose of responding to questions is no unfortunate it is undemocratic. Come to think of it, our legislators are direct representatives of the people, voted into power to represent nothing but the wishes of the people of this country.
In the latest episode to the issue of legislators asking for an honest, harmless face-off with their president, four members of Parliament— Malawi Congress Party president and opposition leader, reverend Lazarus Chakwera, Mzimba South West legislator and former Vice-President Khumbo Kachali, Rumphi West representative Kamlepo Kalua and Nkhotakota South East legislator, Everson Makowa, send questions to the President under Standing Order 70.
When legislators have burning questions and feel that the only human being capable of providing answers is the President, they write the President through the Speaker of the National Assembly. The four legislators took this path but, as has sadly been the case with our so—called democratic leaders, the four legislators will be disappointed to learn that a Cabinet minister will stand-in for the President.
This is sad, considering that the issues the legislators raised are pertinent to Malawi. We talk of hunger and an economic down-spiral that has no brakes.
Maybe this should be, yet again, an eye-opener and should help us reconsider the role of the Vice-President in our national affairs. Maybe the Vice-President, if the laws said so, could have represented the President well. Otherwise, delegating a Cabinet Minister smacks of insecurity and blatant disdain for accountability.
Of course, I know that Vice-Presidents, even in the United States, are figureheads. They are there and, at the same time, they are not there. Indeed, one humorist in the United States joked that “The role of the Vice-President is to represent him or herself at the president’s funeral”. I have forgotten who, but I liked that expression.
But this is not the way things should pan out, in the United States, or in this country.
The Vice-President can become more useful than now by being given some responsibilities. For example, the laws – or, is it protocol? — should make it possible for the Vice-President to stand in and represent the President when the question of the President appearing in Parliament [and the President seems unwilling to do so] crops up.
As things stand now— and, maybe, I may be schooled on this one— the National Assembly is composed of The President and The Parliament. I do not think the term president [despite appearing alongside the Vice President, who serves as running mate, on the ballot box] includes the Vice-President.
If it does, why not send Vice-President Saulos Chilima? That’s where the issue of insecurity crops up.
Someone, somewhere— as has happened so many times before— is afraid!
And it is apparent that at no time do the leaders’ fears come to the fore than when they are summoned by Members of Parliament.
In post-1994 Malawi, it has become impossible for leaders to be held accountable through that forum of the people [through their Members of Parliament, of course]: Parliament.
Former president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika, never availed himself to legislators to respond to their questions. Joyce Banda was no different and no one expects President Peter Mutharika to be any different.
But our leaders’ position on the issue of appearing before legislators armed with the sole purpose of responding to questions is no unfortunate it is undemocratic. Come to think of it, our legislators are direct representatives of the people, voted into power to represent nothing but the wishes of the people of this country.
In the latest episode to the issue of legislators asking for an honest, harmless face-off with their president, four members of Parliament— Malawi Congress Party president and opposition leader, reverend Lazarus Chakwera, Mzimba South West legislator and former Vice-President Khumbo Kachali, Rumphi West representative Kamlepo Kalua and Nkhotakota South East legislator, Everson Makowa, send questions to the President under Standing Order 70.
When legislators have burning questions and feel that the only human being capable of providing answers is the President, they write the President through the Speaker of the National Assembly. The four legislators took this path but, as has sadly been the case with our so—called democratic leaders, the four legislators will be disappointed to learn that a Cabinet minister will stand-in for the President.
This is sad, considering that the issues the legislators raised are pertinent to Malawi. We talk of hunger and an economic down-spiral that has no brakes.
Maybe this should be, yet again, an eye-opener and should help us reconsider the role of the Vice-President in our national affairs. Maybe the Vice-President, if the laws said so, could have represented the President well. Otherwise, delegating a Cabinet Minister smacks of insecurity and blatant disdain for accountability.
Of course, I know that Vice-Presidents, even in the United States, are figureheads. They are there and, at the same time, they are not there. Indeed, one humorist in the United States joked that “The role of the Vice-President is to represent him or herself at the president’s funeral”. I have forgotten who, but I liked that expression.
But this is not the way things should pan out, in the United States, or in this country.
The Vice-President can become more useful than now by being given some responsibilities. For example, the laws – or, is it protocol? — should make it possible for the Vice-President to stand in and represent the President when the question of the President appearing in Parliament [and the President seems unwilling to do so] crops up.
As things stand now— and, maybe, I may be schooled on this one— the National Assembly is composed of The President and The Parliament. I do not think the term president [despite appearing alongside the Vice President, who serves as running mate, on the ballot box] includes the Vice-President.
If it does, why not send Vice-President Saulos Chilima? That’s where the issue of insecurity crops up.
Someone, somewhere— as has happened so many times before— is afraid!
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