Flashback: The Poorly Lit Road Of Democracy

In March 2025, there were indications that the wall of Malawi’s democracy was tumbling into something unrecognisable; something unpeaceful.

After all, Malawi is known as a peaceful country such that any act of violence, political or otherwise, is surely an affront on its reputation.

 

Anti-democracy tactics?

As Malawians prepare for the September 16, 2025 Local Government, Parliamentary and Presidential Elections, civil society organisations (CSOs) have been having difficulties to conduct election-related demonstrations.

It all started last year, when some CSO leaders announced that they would hold demonstrations against, first, the handling of voter and citizen registration processes by the Malawi Electoral Commission and National Registration Bureau.

However, the concerned CSOs started facing hitches when some district council officials decided to play hard ball, effectively denying CSO leaders the “right” to hold demonstrations on the pretext that the Head of State had engagements on the day of the demonstrations.

The Malawi Police Service (MPS), too, was, seemingly, playing some politics, with some of its officials not committing to would-be demonstrators’ safety by claiming that law enforcers would be engaged with other State engagements on the day of demonstrations, such that their presence would not be guaranteed.

Then, the ‘political dribbling’ took another turn. Would-be demonstrators were allowed to demonstrate, yes—only for panga-wielding men to appear and attack them right in front of MPS officers who, for all intents and purposes, are supposed to be protectors of people’s lives, livestock and property.

In March this year, some people, under the banner of Concerned Civil Servants, wanted to present a petition to Parliament as one way of expressing their discontent over a proposed salary hike. That time, parliamentarians—who probably just had their last meeting before the September elections—were meeting.

However, the marchers were stopped in their tracks by unknown people who, using pangas, hacked some of them.

Now there are concerns of possible human rights violations as some of the members of the grouping have been transferred to other workstations.

However, some of the teachers have vowed not to honour the transfers as, apparently, they smell a rat.

The decision to transfer them was made through a letter from the Local Government Service Commission, with executive secretary Edward Talota signing it.

The proposed 20 percent salary hike became effective on April 1 this year.

The Government Negotiating Team, Civil Servants Trade Union and Teachers Union of Malawi agreed on the hike after a series of talks on the matter.

The letter indicated that the Concerned Civil Servants’ leader Madalitso Banda had been transferred from Ntchisi to Mchinji District while vice chairperson Trouble Myaba had been transferred from Mzimba District to Ntcheu District.

The group's secretary Gloria Kagona was transferred from Blantyre to Nsanje District.

Other members—namely Bettie Mponda, Moses Zimba, Yona Chindamba, Rebecca Malizani, Jane Sandina, Yesaya Kaoza, George Mutanga, Alfred Piyo, Jane Mwale, Mengezi Mwalwanda Kamanga and Mphatso Banda—were also transferred from their workstations to other districts.

Last month, Myaba indicated that the group was concerned with the transfers.

“We are very dismayed and have called for an emergency meeting to map the way forward. But I feel [like] we will be getting a court injunction soon,” he told The Daily Times.

Kagona also questioned the transfers.

"The ministry told us that it will only be accepting cross transfers. It told us that no transfers between districts will be allowed. So why move us from one district to another?" Kagona said.

The concerned teachers' spokesperson Bettie Mponda said the transfers raised more questions than answers.

“We know that it is because of our recent association with those who have been organising the demos. Why only us, teachers? We will sit [down] and discuss the matter," she said.

On his part, education rights activist Benedicto Kondowe described the timing of the transfers as suspicious.

The group argues that the 20 percent does not tally with the current cost of living. As such, the grouping was proposing a 44 percent salary hike and 200 percent increment on allowances.

Last week, some of the teachers who were recently transferred by the Local Government Service Commission gave the office of the Attorney General (AG) 48 hours to facilitate the reversal of their transfer.

This is contained in a notice that the teachers have made to the AG's office through Taulo and Associates legal practitioners.

The notice is dated April 3, 2025. In it, Bettie Phiri and others are taking on the Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Education through the AG.

She and others are actually asking the AG to stop the implementation of the decision to transfer her and seven other teachers to other districts on the grounds that they exercised their right to participate in peaceful demonstrations.

In the notice, the teachers say they want the AG’s office to liaise with the Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Education to reverse the decision.

The teachers say they believe that the AG’s office was better placed to stop the transfer.

“It is our client's belief that your office, as a constitutional office, has an obligation to advise the officers responsible not to implement the decision that is clearly a violation of rights guaranteed by our constitution," the notice adds.

 

 

 

Concerns over violence

Perhaps considering that anti-democratic tendencies could be growing wings, some national players, notably the clergy, have started taking requisite action.

Take, for instance, Livingstonia Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, which recently said it was ready to engage two major political parties, namely the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), in discussions aimed at addressing cases of political violence.

It said peace was key to the holding of free and fair elections.

Livingstonia Synod Deputy General Secretary Reverend Isiah Mhone said they had decided to make the move because MCP and DPP were key players on the political landscape.

“The church cannot keep on watching Malawians fighting and innocent people being hacked because of some power-hungry politicians.

“We are preachers [yes] but that does not mean that we should be watching [idly while] people [are] fighting. The people politicians work with are the same people we preach to. They are our Christians. So, we are able to assist these two parties because both parties acknowledged that they are aware that their members could be involved in the violence,” Mhone said.

He said they were hoping that political party leaders would accept to meet church leaders.

MCP publicity secretary Jassy Kabwira welcomed the synod’s idea, saying the party would always support groups that drive the agenda of peace and ending political violence

However, Kabwira said MCP would be comfortable if the church would be unbiased when addressing the matter.

She said the church had to look at evidence that was available on the ground.

“MCP always preaches peace. You will never hear MCP telling people to fight or hack people. This has been happening with DPP. Malawians heard DPP leaders telling people to beat MCP members or anyone dressed in MCP colours. This is what we expect the church to help address,” Kabwira said.

On his part, DPP publicity secretary Shadric Namalomba commended the church for the idea.

Namalomba then accused MCP of sponsoring “thugs to hack our members and those who wish to hold demonstrations”.

“It’s not too late for the clergy to come in, though we wished this happened some time back. As such, we want the church to do its work properly because we know MCP established military groups in all trading centres in the Central Region to deal with us when holding rallies. This could have stopped,” Namalomba said.

 

Parliament, police vow action

In addition, on April 2 this year, members of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security challenged Inspector General of Police Merlyne Yolamu to “reverse the situation where police are having a bad image” due to perceptions that the Malawi Police Service is “political”.

Chairperson for the committee Salim Bagus said, when Yolamu appeared before committee members in Lilongwe, that Malawians were concerned with attacks orchestrated by panga-wielding “thugs”, apparently with little police action.

Speaking after the meeting, Bagus said they had asked Yolamu to “bring back the police image” for renewed public trust in the institution.

“We have managed to talk to her, as Inspector General. She has managed to explain her side but we, as a committee, will be looking forward [to action] from her. What we need is action," Bagus said.

On her part, Yolamu said MPS was investigating cases of political violence and panga- wielding attacks that had been registered in the country.

She, however, blamed political leaders for fuelling violence.

“[We, in] police have tried to be non-partisan when handling this issue. We have managed to arrest people on both sides, the opposition and those in the ruling party,” Yolamu said.

She said police arrested three people who were behind the vandalism of vehicles that belong to lawmakers at Parliament Building this year, adding that the suspects were out on bail.

She also said MPS had managed to arrest six people in Chikwawa District for allegedly stoning President Lazarus Chakwera's convoy last year.

Others arrested, according to Yolamu, are three people who allegedly vandalised a vehicle that belongs to a member of the governing Malawi Congress Party in Machinga District.

She also said three people were arrested for allegedly assaulting a presidential candidate for Alliance for Democracy in Lilongwe and three others for attacking two women in Ndirande Township, Blantyre.

Maybe such assurances could signal the creation of a ‘frontier’ between peace and anarchy in the country.

However, in the case of Malawi, where panga-wielding people seem to attack at will and largely go scot-free, action would probably speak louder than words.

Otherwise, as at now, the road to September 16, 2025 looks like a badly lit one.