Investigating scientific methods for flood mitigation: Part 1

 In this two-part series—which has been produced with support from the Louise Behan Grant, an initiative of the World Federation of Science Journalists—RICHARD CHIROMBO analyses the potential strengths and weaknesses of existing scientific approaches to flood management and their impact on reducing flood-related damage in the Shire Valley.

Aged only 25, Steward Nankhumwa’s voice is already weighed down by painful memories.

The college student, who is based in Malawi’s old capital, Zomba, says he has had nightmares about floods, such that he decided to do something about the situation.

“In the past, storm and cyclone-induced floods were not occurring at the rate they are doing now. Not nowadays. We hear about storms and cyclones causing devastation in Malawi almost every year, which signals a problem,” Nankhumwa, who we found at his home, which is located along the floods-prone Likangala River, points out.

Even at his relatively young age, he is speaking from experience.

 

At the centre of the storm

Malawi has, somehow, become inundated with storm and cyclone-induced disasters in recent years.

In March 2008, Malawi had a close call with a cyclone, namely Jokwe, which brought heavy rains that were accompanied by strong winds. With speeds of up to 105 metres per hour, it especially decimated property in some parts of Mozambique, with Malawi receiving some of the heavy winds and rains that accompanied it, albeit without registering cases of property damage.

If anything, it is Cyclone Funso, which made landfall in Malawi in January 2012 and induced floods that caused power outages, that made Malawians aware of the risk at hand; that is, increased vulnerability to cyclones.

The natural phenomenon was particularly noticeable because it had been two years since the last cyclone, namely Gelane, had been recorded in the region.

And, after a relatively calm period, the expected also happened in 2019 when, in March, Tropical Cyclone Idai made landfall in the country. It induced heavy rains that were accompanied by heavy winds, culminating in landslides and, in some areas of the country, floods.

A month later, Cyclone Lorna hit, bringing winds that, in some cases, reached 130 kilometres per hour. Its defining features included flooding that culminated in damage to public roads, houses, crop fields. The floods also led to power outages and disrupted water supply systems, among other things.

Malawians, Nankhumwa inclusive, have also been witnesses to Tropical Storm Ana, which made landfall in the Southern African Development Community member state in January 2022 and affected some parts of central and southern Malawi.

As before, it left devastation in its wake, leaving 70-plus people dead, damaging crops, disrupting the provision of education services and leaving 945,728 people—especially those in the Shire Valley districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa, as well as other Southern Region districts of Phalombe, Mangochi and Mulanje—in dire need of relief items such as food and shelter.

In addition, Nankhumwa and many other Malawians have fond memories of Tropical Storm Ana, which impacted the country in January 2022, followed, in March of the same year, by Tropical Storm Ana, both of which brought heavy rains and strong winds that induced floods. Public facilities such as roads, houses, health centres, schools, among things, were destroyed.

Then, on March 11, 2023, Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall in Malawi—a country located in Southern Africa, east of Zambia, west and north of Mozambique—with a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Report estimating that 225 people died, 109,625 hectares of crops for around 308,000 farming families getting washed away, with over 288,000 houses damaged and total damage and losses estimated at $220.2 million.

Freddy killed more than 225 people in Malawi and left thousands of homes in ruins. Many areas were flooded, sparking landslides and other calamities.

It prompted President Lazarus Chakwera to declare a state of disaster.

In December 2024, Malawi became the victim of Cyclone Chido, which the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (Dodma) indicated affected 46, 017 people in 23 districts, with 13 people dying, 29 sustaining injuries and members of 227 households getting displaced.

This year, the country has already borne the brunt of Cyclone Jude, with Dodma indicating that the rains it induced affected 3,600 people in the Southern Region, with three people reported missing. Later, it said bodies of two of the missing people had been found.

According to Nsanje District Council spokesperson Robert Nayeja, searches led to the recovery of the bodies of Joe Tisowa, 26, and 11-year-old Chifundo Patrick.

 

Thirteen Southern Region districts were affected by the cyclone, according to Dodma Commissioner Charles Kalemba, who indicated that the three people went missing after a canoe they were sailing in capsized in Ruo River.

The affected councils were Mulanje, Chikwawa, Thyolo, Zomba City, Phalombe, Neno, Mwanza and Mangochi.

Surprisingly, Mangochi was the hardest hit, with 1,421 households affected in areas under Traditional Authority (TA) Chowe and Sub-TA Moto. In TAs Nsabwe and Nsabwe in Thyolo District, 849 people were affected.

A Chikwawa District Council report indicates that three houses collapsed in TA Mulilima’s area whereas a Zomba City report indicates that 19 households (approximately 86 people) have been affected.

Dodma also indicates that apart from 774 people that are reported to have been affected in TA Nkanda, the council received reports of damage from TA Njema and Sunganinzeru.

In Neno, about 410 people were affected in TA Dambe and Chekucheku, with most roads being rendered impassable.

In fact, in Neno District, residents had no electricity for three consecutive days following the collapsing of electric poles due to heavy rains and strong winds.

On its part, the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (Met) has indicated that the cyclone made landfall in Malawi through Phalombe District.

The department’s director Dr Lucy Mtilatila indicates that "The storm reduced its intensity when it was approaching Malawi”.

Already, non-governmental organisations such as Care Malawi have activated their Jude Crisis Modifier initiatives, under which it is providing a cash caution of K70,000 each and other relief items to those affected by disaster.

Care Malawi Humanitarian Assistance Programme Manager Burnet Khulumbo indicates that they want to ease the suffering of people who have been affected by natural phenomena.

“Care Malawi [also] issued cash to people who were affected by drought, which affected crops in Mangochi and some parts of the country during the last farming seasons,” he indicates.

Under the drought response project, Care Malawi and its partners are providing K92, 500 each to over 15,000 households that were affected by drought last year.

“The money will be paid for three months, starting from this month [March],” he says.

The Malawi Red Cross Society has joined the efforts.

 

Life in climate-change dictated world

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which issued the ‘State of the Global Climate’ report in Geneva on March 19, 2025, key climate indicators reached record levels last year, with long-term warming remaining below 1.5 degrees Celsius, sea-level rise and ocean warning remaining “irreversible” for hundreds of years, among other things.

It also indicates that “record” greenhouse gas concentrations combined with El Niño and other factors driving record hit during the year in question.

The report further shows that “globally, each of the past 10 years were individually the warmest. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years”.

It cites early warnings and the provision of timely climate services as key to “protecting communities and economies”.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has since called for requisite action.

"Our planet is issuing more distress signals—but this report shows that limiting long-term global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is still possible. Leaders must step up to make it happen—seizing the benefits of cheap, clean renewables for their people and economies— with new national climate plans due this year." 

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo echoes the sentiments.

“While a single year above 1.5 °C of warming does not indicate that the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement are out of reach, it is a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet.”

For Malawi, taking requisite action started with the recognition that, perhaps, some things were not being done the proper way. 

One of the activities that have been taking place is the creation of national anticipatory action dialogue platforms. The first meeting took place almost two years ago, with the second one taking place last year.

Such meetings attract government officials, humanitarian actors, Malawi’s development partners, researchers and members of community-based organisations and are premised on enhancing collaboration and deepening understanding of anticipatory action initiatives.

So far, a Multi-Sector Malawi Anticipatory Action Roadmap, one that aligns with the country's commitment to climate responses, has been formed and some actors are already implementing activities listed in it.

Speaking at the meeting that was held in November last year, Dodma Deputy Director responsible for preparedness Fedson Chikuse pointed out that before Cyclone Freddy and last year’s El-Nino spate, Malawians lacked anticipatory actions, hence natural phenomena’s impacts were devastating on communities.

"Anticipatory action offers a powerful pathway to mitigate these impacts. By acting early, lives can be protected, livelihoods safeguarded and emergency response costs reduced," Chikuse points out.

It is an idea the Malawi Red Cross Society is advancing. Its secretary general Chifundo

Kalulu acknowledges that prioritising anticipatory action and disaster preparedness can help Malawi minimise the devastating impacts of disasters and promote resilience among community members. 

He says putting in place such a mechanism “is not merely a matter of policy; it is a matter of survival, particularly in the face of escalating climate risks and other challenges" that are affecting Malawi and other countries.

In February this year, Dodma Principal Disaster Preparedness Officer Edwin Zawanda singled out anticipatory humanitarian action as a viable long-term strategy for mitigating the impacts of perennial floods, including problems such as loss of lives and property.

He said this in Chikwawa District during a co-design workshop for the Anticipatory Action Project, which Eagles Relief is implementing in Chikwawa District while Church Aid in Relief and Development is implementing in Nsanje District.

Both districts are prone to floods.

Zawanda adds that apart from taking anticipatory action, there are other mechanisms employed to ensure that people remain safe from disasters, natural or otherwise.

"In fact, in Nsanje and Chikwawa, we moved people from disaster-prone areas to upper areas. Not only that, we are taking steps to sensitise community members, in terms of disaster preparedness.

"In addition to such actions, the new Disaster Risk Management Act empowers Dodma to make sure that people move from disaster-prone areas to areas where they will be safe. As for those who are sticking to such areas, there are regulations that ensure that they move from such areas," Zawanda points out.

Meanwhile, Eagles Relief Programmes Officer Trywell Khonje has described anticipatory action as a significant short to medium-term strategic plan of minimising the impact of floods in vulnerable areas.

He explains that the framework, which is a new concept in Malawi, will enable community members to develop tailored disaster-preparedness interventions.
“Local community members will, among other things, facilitate the process of identifying potential actions to implement between the time an early warning message is received and the onset of a disaster in communities.

“What happens is that between the time an early warning has been issued and time of disaster, the period in-between is ideal for anticipatory action. We have anticipatory action at district level, contained in the district contingency plan. Common anticipatory actions include cash transfers to households; strengthening of structures, including providing black plastic material; and, in extreme situations, promoting the early harvesting of crops,” Khonje says.

“However, in cases of floods, you are very limited, in terms of anticipatory actions, because you have very few days during which to take action. It must be noted that [anticipatory action] is implemented if we have 85 percent probability of disaster,” he adds.

To make matters worse for Malawi, Lake Malawi levels have been rising in the past two years, with some hospitality industry players in the lakeshore district of Mangochi bearing the brunt.

Now, after finding an opportunity in gaps that have been identified when implementing activities in anticipation of floods, Nankhumwa has devised a solution, namely the introduction of a floods alarm in Likangala River.

With it, he hopes that climate change-induced problems such as floods will no longer weigh down on his voice—and body.

When tobacco gives back to the community

 From 2007, when people from Chalika, Elton, Zulu Chabvula, Kawaja, Mbauwo and other villages saw Kaswiti Primary School being opened in their area, dilapidated classrooms were a pervasive presence.

However, for 319 learners that regard the school, which is in Ekwendeni, Mzimba District, as the home of academic excellence, it was not the dilapidated classroom blocks that aroused trepidation in them; it was, in fact, the onset of rains.  

“We always feared for the worst during the rainy season. There was this lingering fear that, maybe, a block would fall on us,” said Simao, one of the learners.

Now head teacher Joyce Mpata, Parents Teacher Association (PTA) members, traditional leaders and learners themselves are elated after Alliance One Tobacco Malawi started constructing a two-classroom block that has since been handed over to local communities.

On a hot morning on Tuesday, February 11 2025, learners could be seen walking in and out of the classrooms, apparently happy that they had found the long sought after shelter.

“Before Alliance One Tobacco Company constructed the two-classroom block, some learners used to learn in a grass-thatched class. To make matters worse, classes were being disrupted during the rainy season,” Mpata explained.

Following the construction of the school block, stakeholders hope that Primary School Leaving Certificate of Education (PSLCE) examinations candidates will be passing with flying colours.

“In 2024, all 17 PSLCE candidates passed, with 10 being selected to community day secondary schools,” the head teacher, who now wants to see more candidates being selected to national secondary schools, pointed out.

Another school where teachers, learners, PTA members, traditional leaders, among others, are smiling from ear to ear due to the intervention of the tobacco-buying firm is Changoma.

There, a two-classroom block that had seen the best and worst days was adopted and renovated.

From 1995, when the Mzimba District-based school was opened, learners—especially those in standard 3 and 4—were used to reporting for classes in the afternoon because of shortage of classroom blocks.

According to head teacher Lusungu Kachali Nsele, the problem of classroom shortage was fuelled by the fact that some classes were not in good shape.

“We, therefore, felt happy when Alliance One Tobacco Company officials told us that they would renovate the block. Before the renovation exercise, classroom floors had no concrete. As such, learners’ clothes and uniforms were getting dirty, which was forcing parents and guardians to be spending a lot of money on soap everyday.

“This is now a thing of the past, especially for learners who will be using the renovated school block,” Kachali Nsele said.

On his part, Village Head Mtoronthara, who is under Traditional Authority Mpherembe, said the renovated block would serve as a source of motivation for learners.

“We understand that tobacco buyers, notably Alliance One, are against child labour. We will, therefore, continue ensuring that children are in school instead of having anything to do with tobacco production.

“That way, we are ensuring that we have an educated nation,” Mtoronthara explained.

The school has 610 learners.

Kasenga is another primary school that has benefitted from the firm’s initiative.

The Rumphi-based school has had a two-classroom block renovated.

Steve Chunda, who is the Alliance One Tobacco Company chairperson for Kasenga Zone, said the renovated school would attract more learners to the school, thereby facilitating the attainment of national development goals.

“Education is the pillar of development. As such, we expect improved outcomes due to exposure to classroom knowledge.

“We are thankful to Alliance One for the initiative,” he explained.

The sentiments were echoed by Village Development Committee member Lameck Kawonga, who added that children will be preoccupied with education and extracurricular activities, thereby putting their time to good use.

Head teacher for the school, Tryness Mbale, said she expected positive outcomes from the 473 learners that tap knowledge from textbooks and the school’s teachers.

“A school with necessary amenities, including standard infrastructure, creates a conducive environment for learners’ enhanced performance. We, therefore, expect positive change, in terms of learners’ performance, because those who will be using the classrooms are motivated,” Mbale said.

Harry Antonio, who is a Community Development Officer under Rumphi District Council, pointed out that it was important for tobacco-buying companies to be giving back to the community.

He said, in so doing, such firms become part of community and national development efforts.

“First of all, we are happy that you are addressing the problem of child labour. We believe that all children, including those of people who work in tobacco estates, will utilise the renovated two-classroom block and ensure that all children of school-going age are in school.

“One of the enablers of the Malawi 2063 vision is mindset change. However, for mindset change to happen, one needs to have at least basic education. Alliance One Tobacco Company’s gesture is, therefore, timely as it will facilitate knowledge acquisition among children,” Antonio said.

As learners at Kasenga are acquiring knowledge, so are those at Kalundamawe Primary School in Rumphi District.

The school’s head teacher, Emmanuel Mhango, indicated that they had since 2015, when the school was opened, been lacking proper structures.

Indeed, at the time of our visit on Friday, February 14 2025, iron sheets had been blown down on one of the classroom blocks.

Mhango said heavy rains, accompanied by heavy winds, were responsible for the damage.

However, one two-classroom block stood unshaken, and this is the one Alliance One Tobacco Company has just handed over to the school authorities.

“This is a junior primary school which was established to reduce the distance that children were covering to get to the nearest public primary school. Small children cannot cover 10 kilometres or so on foot just to acquire an education, hence the school was opened in our area.

“However, it did not have proper structures, hence we are grateful to Alliance One for remembering us. It is the first time a private sector player has reached out to us with anything, let alone a renovated school block like the one these people are handing over to us,” Mhango explained.

Taking his turn, Group Village Headman Mayaka said community members had been trying their best to erect structures but were struggling to raise enough resources, hence they welcomed Alliance One’s gesture.

“We are hardworking people who want the best for our children. However, for our goals to be met, we need partners like these. We pledge to take care of the structures,” Mayaka said.

Meanwhile, Alliance One Tobacco Company Corporate Affairs Officer Ben Kawonga has said the firm is a “responsible corporate sector player”, hence its decision to invest in the future of children through investments in education.

“We, as Alliance One Tobacco Company, have invested heavily in corporate social responsibility activities. We have, for example, invested resources in either classroom block construction or renovation in 12 schools in the current year of our operations, which started on April 1 2024 and will end on March 31 this year.

“In terms of the total amount we have invested in CSR [corporate social responsibility] in various projects, including health, education, among others, we are talking about $280,000 (about K485.3 million). This is our way of giving back to the community,” Kawonga said.

He added that they would continue investing in various sectors, including that of education, so that Malawi could meet its development goals.

“When we operate in areas, we also look at community members’ needs because we want to make a positive difference in people’s lives. We will continue being a responsible corporate sector player as we seek to ensure that we, as a nation, are growing together,” Kawonga said.

The idea, he says, is to ensure that dilapidated classrooms no longer have a pervasive
presence across the country.

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.