Hoffman Aipira's metamorphosis

There is, as Indians say, always one candle that kindles unlimited numbers of other candles, each with the same intensity as the first, there yet remains the original.

To poet Hoffman Aipira, that original candle is his father, Cheliza Leonard Aipira who, although resident in Zimbabwe at the time, still pulled the strings back home.

HAS WRITTEN BOTH FICTION AND NON-FICTION BOOKS: Aipira

“I cannot deny: The love of words, writing, started way back after my father, Leonard Aipira-- I fondly call him Cheliza because I am proud of my Yao heritage-- sent me a dictionary from Zimbabwe while I was in Standard 4 at Mvundula Primary School in Mangochi,” recollects Aipira.

“I went through the book; there was no picture. I then went to my mum, Adisi Aipira, and asked: 'What does dad want me to do with a book that has no pictures?' I took it to my Primary School teacher at Mvundula to seek guidance and the teacher told me that I would understand later. He advised me to keep the picture-less book, saying it would help build the foundation for my vocabulary later,” says Aipira, who comes from Mvumba Village, Traditional Authority Nankumba, in Mangochi.

In the world of the children of yester-years, according to Aipira, a book was not judged by its cover alone. Pictures were worth more than the cover.

But the lack of pictures did not discourage Aipira from flipping the pages and enjoying the artificial breeze created by the purposeless turning of the pages.

“Still, I took interest in flipping the pages. I must say that the sound of the clicking pages fascinated me and I am sure that my love of words sprouted from there [the page-turning]. Later, I graduated from marveling at the sound of the flipping pages to 'building' my vocabulary. The vocabulary gave me a footing in writing,” he says.

Aipira adds that, whereas his father inspired, his mother played the disciplinarian by, among other things, not giving him the leeway to go swimming or fishing-- as is the norm with children born along the lake.

“By the way, I was born at a mission hospital and my father used to ask the missionaries: 'What should I do so that my kids become as educated as you are?' Actually, I heard my father mention the word 'university' several times and I knew that would be my destination some day. The discipline came from my mother, who was self-taught and knew how to read and write,” says Aipira, the last-born in a family of three boys and two girls.



Unlike other people who find it difficult to cope with life when one of their parents decides to leave their homeland and seek greener pastures in a foreign land, Aipira has kind words for his father, who used to be a city council worker before embarking on a trip to Zimbabwe where he could communicate with his family back home through the Post Office.

“My father went to Zimbabwe so that he could secure a job and be able to pay school fees for his sons. You see, my father had a tailoring and fishing business. He registered little success in tailoring and, as regards fishing, some people stole his fishing gear. He also tried tobacco cultivation, with no success. Thus, angry, he left for Zimbabwe.

“My parents had interest in education. In those days, in the 1950s, they sent the first-born in our family to Khola, a boarding school in Ntcheu--away from Mangochi, away from the hustle and bustle of fishing and swimming,” Aipira explains.



Foray in poetry

With the help of the picture-less book, Aipira built the foundation for his writing career and, today, he can proudly look at 'Reflections and Sunsets', a collection of over 50 poems published by Kachere Series, with pride and claim that words, too, have the enduring power to create images-- just like pictures can simply a million words.

About 500 copies of 'Reflections and Sunsets' were printed and, to put an icing to the cake, rights of book were sold to the United Kingdom through African Books Collective [ABC] by the publisher. This means the collection can be found in the United Kingdom and Europe in general.

“I composed the poems in 'Reflections and Sunsets' collection when I was in the United Kingdom. Some of the poems were even featured in American and Irish literary magazines,” says Aipira.

One can see traces of his father's influence in the collection, as evidenced in one of the poems 'Dad'.

Take the hoe my son

Carefully tie the seed-bas

At the end of the hole-handle

At first light

Before the dew is dry

Mark a patch of soil

To carry this life seed

And give life

Hope

The persona in the poem is waxing lyric about agriculture and the emphasis is, clearly, on working. It is common knowledge that if one toils, their life is given the impetus of hope. The one who works neither suffers nor depends on others.

Maybe Malawi, our dad, can learn from this. For 51 years, Malawi has failed to “take the hoe” and “Mark a patch of soil”, “To carry this life seed/And give life/Hope”. Not surprisingly, donor dependence has become Dad Malawi's way of post-independence life. Malawi is, therefore, a bad 'dad'.

There are three sections in 'Reflections and Sunsets'. The first one, titled 'Reflections and Sunsets' see the personae reflecting on life back home. We can only assume that the persona is Malawian. The section has such poems as 'The first rains', 'Dad', 'At Wenela Bus Station', 'Sunset at Lake Malawi'.

Section two, under the title 'Another Winter', could as well be described as a reflection of new experiences of a persona whose body has been trapped in a foreign land-- on, say, academic, religious, tourism grounds--but the mind is stationed at home.

The foreign destination must, surely, be Europe, where the shadow of winter defines the cycle of life. Poems such as 'Crossing continents', 'Waiting for Pelicans at St James Park' and 'An evening on the city' furnish the theme.

But, then, what goes around comes around. So, section three, titled 'Distant drums' is about anticipation, which defines the mood when time to go back to one's native home approaches. So, it is not a surprise that 'Two halves', 'Grandfather's footsteps', 'Telling tales' are some of the dominant poems in the section.

The last section, titled 'Telling tales', is a reflection of the African spirit that prioritises story telling. Finally, the personae are back home and have to tell their stories, share their recollections of life to those they left behind. Ironically, instead of telling tales of the personae's experiences in the foreign land and knowledge acquired abroad-- in much the same way grandmothers gathered their grandchildren around a fire and told stories that had been told, retold, retold, and retold by, and from, one generation to another, before the winds of modernity blew the communal spirit away-- the stories shared are about the native country.

This is reflected in 'Chichiri 3 pm', 'The granaries at Kanengo', among others.

Other grounds

However, 'Reflections and Sunsets' is not the only work associated with Aipira. He has also co-edited the anthology 'The Time Traveller of Malavi: New Poetry from Malawi'. The anthology, which features creative writers such as Yamaha Ali, Sylvester Chabuka, David Lubadiri, Temwani Mgunda, Zondiwe Mbano, Ken Lipenga, Matilda Kampezeni was co-edited by Malawi Writers Union president, Sambalikagwa Mvona and Hoffman Aipira.

Aipira continues his journey of reflections in the anthology through such pieces as 'Visiting Maone', 'Malawi', 'The delights of Nankumba Peninsula'.

Says Aipira: “The poem I love the most in 'The Time Traveller of Malavi: New Poetry from Malawi' is 'The delights of Nankumba Peninsula' because I talk about home, Mangochi.”

He has also contributed poems to the anthology 'Operations and Tears', edited by Anthony Nazombe. Aipira's poems include 'A letter from home', 'Mix and match', 'Water fall'.



Family business

But Aipira is not the only writer in the family.

“I am not the only one interested in writing in our family. The third-born in our family, Okomaatani Steven Aipira, has interest in writing. He has written 'Business Studies for Developing Countries' now being used by students. The book was published by Dzuka Publishing Company,” he says.

Wokomaatani has also authored 'Malawi takes off', a book published by Kachere Series. The book focuses on the late Bingu wa Mutharika's first term in office.

That time, Malawians were running high on both hope and economic prospects, as evidenced by the fact that, according to the Economist Magazine, the country registered the second-fastest growing economy in the world after oil-rich Qatar.

The way things have turn out today is a story for another day. But Okomaatani could not be blamed for his optimism.



Oases

Maybe Zangaphee Chizeze and Edson Mpina grew up believing that they were nothing more than human beings. To Aipira, however, they also served as his sources of inspiration.

“As I grew up, I looked up to Chizeze and Mpina. In the case of Chizeze, I came across his poem 'If ifs were ifs' while I was at Bunda College of Agriculture and I said: 'There is beautiful writing here'. As for Mpina, I was left speechless by his poem 'Summer fires of Mulanje Mountain', which won a BBC award in Commonwealth. It's a very short poem, but it is well written,” says Aipira.

Outside Malawi, he is a fan of William Wordsworth and Seamus Heaney, the Irish poet who won the Nobel Prize of Literature.



Landscaper-cum-author

Aipira, who studies General Agriculture at Bunda College of Agriculture from 1976 to 1979, started off as a humble civil servant when he joined Ministry of Works and Supplies in 1980.

In the ministry, he worked for the landscaping section in the Buildings Department. His work saw him landscaping Sanjika and Kamuzu palaces.

He was one of the pioneers of the Landscaping section, a development that meant Malawi had joined two other African countries-- South Africa and Kenya-- that had landscaping sections. For this reason, International Federation Architects president, ZVI Miller, visited Malawi in 1982.

His expertise in landscaping saw him writing for non-fiction magazines.

“As I did landscaping, I was a member of the Association of Advancement of Science of Malawi [AASOM], whose chairperson was architect Dr Bernard Zingano. AASOM had a magazine and he asked workers, especially new graduates, to contribute articles to the magazine. I wrote an article on the environment in 1981 and he said “Your article is very good. You are a very good writer.”

'You can imagine how happy I was to see my article. One of my friends was Richard Maganga, a graduate from the Polytechnic who was aspiring to become a quantity surveyor. He wrote a very good article, too,” says Aipira.

After working for the Ministry of Works between 1980 and 1985, he received a scholarship to study at the University of Bath in England, where he studied horticulture between 1985 and 1989 and I received an award in 'Outstanding Performance in Horticulture' along with a white girl called Alice Forbes. He was the first foreign student to win the award.

He then worked for a private firm of landscape architects in Bristol, United Kingdom, before pursuing a post-graduate course at the University of Iowa, Northern England, United Kingdom.

“While there, I made a u-turn from Horticulture to look into urbanization. We were looking at the growth of cities and how we could manage them [cities]. It was realised that the majority of people in 2050 would be living in cities. So, it was about how to manage people. Just imagine, as I am speaking Tokyo has a population of 38 million while Delhi and Shanghai in China have populations of over 20 million people.

“I even published an article in 'ECODECISION: Environment and Policy Magazine' published in Montreal, Canada in winter [Between November and February] of 1995. The title of my article was 'Urban farming: Making Africa's cities sustainable'.

“This was the beginning of my interest in the role of cities. There was, indeed, a term coined; 'The bush of the rural areas and the pull of the cities' which was being used by people with interest in this area. The United Nations, through United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) took interest to make the issue global,” he says.

Aipira also worked on a UNEP report titled 'Urban farming in low income cities: Report prepared in connection with the first workshop on urban farming: strategy for food and environmental health in low low income cities'. He co-edited the report along with Charles Cockburn and the findings were published by the Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies, University of York, in One World Studies 24 November 1993.

That was not all. He continued his work in another report 'Urban and Rural Change in the Developing World: procedures of the International Workshop on Urban Farming and Rural Tourism: Priorities for Action in the 21 Century. The editors were Hoffman Aipira, Noorizan Mohamed and Charles Cockburn.

He also had his articles featured in the United Nations magazine 'Nature and Resources' Volume 32 Number 2, 1996. The title of his article was 'Urban Food Production' published under UNICEF in Paris, France.

“Actually, at [University of] York, they wanted me to start department but I said: 'I have to go back home'. I came back home in 2009,” he says.

Maybe, as he write, he may become another candle that kindles unlimited numbers of other candles but remain the original candle-- like his father did.

Rising from the ashes of street life

In a forgotten part of Mudi Bridge between Blantyre Main Market and Blantyre Flea Market, on a spot hidden from human comfort and the noise of freedom, Peter Sithole and a group of other orphaned and abandoned kids ‘founded’ their own version of heaven.

Forgotten at home in Blantyre’s Bangwe Township, looked down upon by the world on top of Mudi bridge, and with no hope for the future, the now 18-year-old Sithole almost resigned to fate and thought he would be there— under the bridge— for the rest of his life.

SITHOLE: I kept on pestering the employer to employ me as a guard despite being only 15 years

But his fear did not hold or, if it did, it did not hold for a long time. Soon, Sithole and the other kids graduated from sleeping under the bridge to sleeping under benches at Blantyre Flea Market.

“I spent eight years as a street child,” says Sithole.

This means the beardless Sithole has lost eight out of his 18 years in life. In eight years, as Sithole was jumping from one street to another in Blantyre and, as he puts it, “from one damaged carton to another at Blantyre Flea Market”, other ‘lucky’ children were able to progress from Standard 1 to Standard 8.

If he had his way, “I would be home attending to school, chatting with friends and family, exchanging gifts on birthdays, Christmas, New Year days. But life treated me harshly and I just heard from the grapevine that any such opportunities existed”.

Of course, Sithole had problems when his parents were alive. But his parents were there to take care of them [problems] and the children— who basically included Peter and his sister [name withheld].

However, the problems escalated beyond hope when his father died.

“My father died in 2002 and I had no close relation to take care of me. I don’t even know my home village. I understand that my home district is Ntcheu, but I do not even know under which Traditional Authority I fall. So, I was a child lost in my own country. To make matters worse, nobody seems to care,” says Sithole, who grew up in Blantyre’s Bangwe Township.



Lost family

According to Sithole, life on the street is a delicate balance between life and death.

“You have to be steadfast in order to survive, to bring food to your mouth. With street life, there is nothing storing food, or bringing food to one’s table. To begin with, there is no food because, every morning, one rises up— I am not saying ‘waking’ up because, sometimes, one spends sleepless nights thinking about why they should be the only ones singled out for harsh treatment by life when others are enjoying it— without knowing where the next meal will come from. Secondly, there is nothing like bringing food to one’s table because a street child has no property.

“A street child walks with all his belongings on him; in the pockets, in other parts of a short or pair of trousers that are specifically ‘designed’ by the street child for the safe keeping of things. But, as you can guess, the property one has are little things— not something like a table,” says Sithole.

He adds that, among street kids themselves, there are others who have been on the streets for a long time that they boss others around. They grab food and money from other street kids. They beat stubborn ones up; and passers-by, no matter how mature or childish they are, just pass by— unperturbed by the injustices being administered by one unjustly-treated human being to another; victims turning against other victims in a vicious circle of revenge.

“When the victimised grow up a bit, they administer the same treatment, if not harsh, on others. Life is brutal on the streets and the task everyday is to survive, find food, be a team player, and live to the next day,” says Sithole, adding:

“But I am not crying over spilt milk. All I am worried about is my sister. For your information, I am the second-born in our family. My sister, maybe after giving up on prospects of a good life, is into commercial sex work. It’s sad that I can’t help her out for now,” says a visibly-touched Sithole.

Despite what he has gone through on the streets, he still has a caring heart and wants the best— nothing but the best— for her sister.

“Two people from one family should not be lost together. That is a disaster. I am sad for what has happened to my sister,” says Sithole.



Lawless Samaritan?
In a country that seems to attach little value on social programmes, vulnerable groups such as street sometimes use common sense— at the expense of international conventions against, for instance, child labour— to survive and bail themselves out of abandonment and desperation.

For Sithole, the unconventional means took the form of child labour and, ironically, Sithole is all praises to the man and company that gave him a ray of hope by heeding his plea to disregard international instruments against child labour and offer him a job.

“Life on the streets did not break my spirits. Actually, on those cool or hot nights, I could think about school. I, therefore, made up my mind to go to school. I had done some primary schooling when my parents were alive and, so, I started drawing plans on how I could sit examinations and go to secondary school,” says Sithole, adding:

“At 15 years, I went to a security company in Blantyre and pleaded with the directors to employ me as guard. They refused, saying they could not employ a 15-year-old boy as that would be promoting child labour. They said employing me would also be violating Malawi’s labour laws. I pleaded and pleaded, telling them I wanted to generate funds from my fees but they put their feet down.

“I did not give up and kept on pestering them until they gave me what I consider a life-line. I was working as a guard at the age of 15 years and I used the funds to pay fees and buy necessities at Njamba Secondary School [in Blantyre].”

Sithole also found another ‘Good Samaritan’ in chips sellers, who would give him and other kids piece work to peel Irish potatoes. While this could be described as another form of child labour, it saved Sithole’s life.

“All one needed to do was work up early, rush to the chips seller’s bench and, if you were the proverbial early bird, you would be given the task to peel the potatoes. We did not receive payment in the form of cash. No. They could give us food— chips— and we could start the day with something in our stomach,” says Sithole.

His resilience paid off.

“I have just sat for Malawi School Certificate of Education examinations in 2015 and I am hopeful that the future is bright. I was not born to fail and I want to be an agent of positive change in my mother country. I will do it. I don’t want to be on the streets again and I want good life for my sister, too,” says Sithole.



Rough road

Step Kids Awareness executive director, Godknows Maseko, once was a street child and knows how it feels to be exposed to such an environment.

“It is not easy to be on the streets as all sorts of nasty things happen to children on the streets. Some are trafficked. In my case, I was once trafficked to a foreign country and only survived by the grace of God after being rescued by the son of the man who had found a market for my body parts. We really need to bail these children out by providing the basic necessities,” says Maseko.

African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect – Malawi Chapter executive director, Kenwilliams Mhango, suggests that the country needs to put in place “robust” social programmes for vulnerable children.

Mhango says the social programmes will help children who have been abandoned by society to find a new lease of life through government interventions.

“Otherwise, removing children from the streets merely serves as a mechanism of treating the symptoms of a disease but not the actual disease. Before long, the children go back to the streets. These children need to be taken care of through, say, child placement homes or utilising extended family systems by sending the children back to their communities and providing social support through those channels,” says Mhango.



Government act

But Minister of Gender, Disability and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati, says the government is working on creating lasting solutions.

“For your information, Sithole is one of those earmarked to benefit from the Community Colleges’ initiative. It is our hope that, through this intervention, we will be able to help Sithole become the responsible citizen he has always wanted to become.

“You may also wish to know that we have social cash transfer programmes that have assisted in making lives of, say, the elderly bearable. We have these problems and will work hard to ensure that a lot of people benefit so that we may be, together with the citizens of this country, turn sadness into happiness for many who think that society has forgotten them,” says Kaliati.

The Malawi Way to Film Prominence

The aim was to establish their presence in a crowded and competitive cultural sphere.

In the end, or mid-way through the journey, that presence seems to have been established, and film makers seem to have received more than what they bargained for: They have managed to sneak their interests in national discourse.

This is the story of film making in 2015. To some degree, film makers managed to add colour to entertainment-starved Malawi by interpreting social, economic, cultural issues and giving them a sense of local significance.

While the holding of festivals such as the Lake of Stars Festival and the Blantyre Arts Festival did not come as a surprise in 2015, as some of these events have been on the local arts calendar for a while, film makers— through the Film Association of Malawi – came with a bolt from the blues when they organised a film festival in Lilongwe between October 23 and 25.

As Film Association of Malawi president, Ezaius Mkandawire, observed, the event was a first in the history of the baby industry.

“We are not duplicating issues. As far as we know, there is no festival that has given film space. We are also looking at the festival as a development project for the industry,” Mkandawire told Weekender.


However, Mkandawire also cited the venue for the festival as a point of departure from other arts festivals.

“We are looking at using Lilongwe, which has no festival in terms of geography, in the Central Region of Malawi. In terms of objectives, we are looking at building a pool of future film makers. The festival has a component of training,” he observed.


The aim, according to Mkandawire, is long-term: To cultivate “a cinema going culture; something that can spur the growth of the industry”.


Of course, being a baby industry, it was always going to be a tall order to host an all-Malawian films’ festival. No wonder, festival organisers also beamed films from Senegal, South Africa, Mali, among other countries.


The highest moment at the festival was when ‘Lilongwe’, a film by Joyce chavula, was premiered. Another film, produced by a Ghanaian and titled ‘South Valley’, was also premiered.
Building from nothing

Fifteen years ago, it would have been wishful thinking to imagine that film makers would have a festival dedicated to the art.
More so when the intentions of the film makers who came up with the idea of establishing the grouping had other reasons for doing so.
“The idea to establish Film Association of Malawi was mooted in the early 2000s when a group of people decided to establish an association with a specific purpose of lobbying the then sole television station, Television Malawi [now Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Television], to provide cheaper rate for broadcasting material,” recalls Mkandawire.
But, like many of the local film maker’s dreams, the idea [to lobby MBC] did not work. Nevertheless, the film makers can finally have solace in the fact that some of their ideas, including the one to hold the Malawi International Film Festival in 2015, materialised.
Indeed, over the years, local film makers have chalked one success over another.
In 2013, for example, Blantyre-based Chimwemwe Mkwezalamba won Best Emerging Director award for her film, ‘The Designer’, at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival held in California, USA.

Another Malawian, Mwizalero Nyirenda, won the Sembene Ousmane Award in Zanzibar (Tanzania) after his film, ‘Umunthu’, won the hearts of judges. Shemu Joyah’s ‘Seasons of a Life’ and the ‘Last Fishing Boat’ have been nominated several times.

Misses, losses

Despite making headway, however, Malawian film makers have lost out on a number of opportunities.
For example, while 2015 came with a host of opportunities for film makers, the chance bypassed locals. One of the festivals that made headlines is the African Film Festival held in New York, USA.
In addition, Greenpop hosted ‘Forest in Focus’, a film festival fundraiser in celebration of forests, in Cape Town, South Africa from 6 to11 June 2013. This was part of an integrative media event that screened a selection of winning short films from the United Nations Forum on Forests and Forests for People awards.


In association with the United Nations Forum on Forests, Forest for People awards, the programme screened five award-winning documentary shorts by “fusing” activism and culture, arts and environmentalism” and, as usual, no Malawian film maker made it to the top.

It is unclear whether local film makers will patronise the Amakula International Film Festival, Uganda’s oldest independent film festival, which will return and celebrate its tenth anniversary this year.
Its objectives are to contribute to a vibrant local film industry, by broadening access to and developing audiences for quality African film production; inspiring local film makers to produce quality local films based on own stories; facilitating, presenting and promoting local film productions; and offering a professional networking platform for the film making community in East Africa and beyond.
A statement from the organisers reads: “After nine consecutive successful festival editions from 2004 to 2012 and a period of reflection, the Amakula International Film Festival is now set to return to the scene and screen to celebrate its 10th anniversary edition in March 2016 in Kampala, Uganda.
“We are now accepting film submissions, especially from African filmmakers, including African diaspora, in all categories (feature films, documentaries, short films, animation). Only films completed after 2013 will be accepted. Films from African filmmakers will automatically enter the Golden Impala Award competition. Films by other filmmakers are submitted out of competition. There will be a special Maisha Screenwriters Award for Ugandan submissions as well as a Student Film Scholarship Award for student submissions.”


China also has film parties lined up, most notably The Chinese-based FIRST International Film Festival which has since called for African film and documentary makers to submit their entries to compete for the Crystal Brick Award during their 10th FIRST International Film Festival Xining 2016 to be held from July 21 to 30, 2016 in Xining, Peoples Republic of China.


The festival, which is aimed at enhancing China-Africa cooperation by introducing African films to Chinese audience, is targeting films produced from June 1, 2014 to date.


According to a statement released by organisers of FIRST International Film Festival Xining, the festival is premised on the idea of “enhancing the development of contemporary film culture and providing opportunities for young filmmakers” by focusing “on the early work of emerging filmmakers all around the world and would love to introduce outstanding African films to Chinese audience”.

However, Mkandawire justified the absence of Malawians at most foreign festivals.

“Most Malawians do not participate in the festivals indeed. The biggest problem is that most film makers in Malawi are not aware of such opportunities. [Of course] The film association helps in making available such kind of information on the various festivals taking place worldwide. As an association, I am not certain if we can participate [in such events] as an entity,” said Mkandawire.

Is Malawi Becoming blood-Thirsty Nation? If Not, Why Were The Following People with Albinism Attacked in 2014 and 2015?

Some things are giving Malawi a bad name. One of them is, definitely, the targeted attacks on people with albinism.

Some of the attacked people have escaped with scars in both their hands and hearts. But others have not been so lucky.

Below are some of the people who have either been killed, injured, of abused in one way or another:


Apart from the murder of Esnert Phiri in Kasungu, and Prescot Pepuza from Mchinji, cases of albino killings, attempted killings, abductions, and attempted abductions have been so commonplace that they are disturbing.


In January this year, a nine-year-old girl was rescued from the jaws of death in Machinga when a 24-year-old man, identified by police spokesperson Davie Sulumba as Mandela Paipi, attempted to abduct her. Paipi is said to have offered the girl's brother K500, 000 in order for him to facilitate the move.



In September 2015, an 11-year-old boy was fighting for his life at Karonga District Hospital after two men kidnapped him and tried to cut his throat and right arm in Karonga. Karonga police spokesperson, Enock Livason, said at the time that the two suspects persuaded the boy to accompany them to the market, only to turn from sheep to wolf, and turn against the unsuspecting boy.



Just last year, suspected members of a criminal gang tampered with the grave of an albino in Balaka District.



In Zomba, eight-year-old girl Maria Kosta might have thought she would return home when she decided to visit Mayaka Trading Centre on July 2, 2013. She has never been heard of again.

She suffered the same fate as Violet Kanyama, 25, but Kanyama's remains were recovered, albeit with amputated feet and no arms.

But the worst case scenario was when people attacked a Machinga District house before mid-night in February last year and abducted the family's two-year-old girl named Ibra Pilo.


Malita Makolija, 68, from Zomba disappeared on January 17, 2015, only for her headless body to be found without arms and legs.

In January this year, four people were convicted for being found in possession of bones believed to belong to an albino.


These developments last year prompted Inspector General, Lexen Kachama, to instruct police officers to shoot-to-kill those caught in the act of abducting or killing albinos. “These people are ruthless, have no mercy and, therefore, need to be treated like that [shot at].”


Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Children, Women and Social Welfare, Isaac Katopola, was quoted in June, 2015 as telling AFP that citizens needed to “change their mindset and realise that albinos do not have magic powers”.
He is on record to have said that, since the spate of attacks escalated in December 2014, six albinos were officially registered as dead. This contrasted sharply with UN agencies' reports. They agencies put the figure at nine.

Pangs of Hunger in Mwanza Central Constituency

A tropical storm hit Mwanza Centre Constituency, the border district between Malawi and Mozambique in the Southern Region, on January 8, blowing away iron sheets, sweeping away over 10 hectares of the maize crop, and leaving community members desolate.

Some of the community members are still living in tents, almost a month after the disaster.

With no food to eat, they are happy for every Good Samaritan who comes to their aid. Well, we were there six days ago, and were humbled by the thankfulness of the affected people to something as small as those five and, to others, 10 kilogramme bags of maize flour or rice.

You never know what a kilogramme can do!

Malawi is reeling under a food crisis. In September last year, President Peter Mutharika’s called for food assistance, and the United States donating $15.7 million [about 9 billion] worth of food commodities.

Mutharika sounded the SOS before his departure for the U.S. to attend the 70th United Nations General Assembly.

U.S. Ambassador to Malawi, Virginia Palmer, said in a statement that the food commodities were meant for some of 2.8 million people in need of humanitarian food assistance.

“This assistance is in response to the September 21 appeal for donor support of up to US$146.4 million (K 84 billion) by the Government of Malawi following the Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) findings in July 2015,” read part of the statement.

The statement added that The UN World Food Program would receive and distribute the United States food donation of 6,250 metric tonnes of beans and 2,810 metric tonnes of vitamin A & D fortified vegetable oil as part of a larger food basket designed to meet the nutritional requirements of those in need.

The food donation is expected to arrive in the country next month.

According to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, 2.8 million people face hunger in 24 districts, necessitating the need for food assistance between the months of October 2015 and March 2016. The development has been blamed on the late onset of rains, severe flooding, mid-season dry spells, and early ending of rains, reducing the country’s maize crop production by 30 percent.

Mutharika said on Monday that his administration was ready to support the 2.8 million people facing hunger and using its own resources has bought 30,000 metric tonnes of maize from Zambia at the cost of K2.82 billion, and it
is in the process of buying additional 26,000 metric tons, at the value of about K3.5 billion.


Said Mutharika: “This maize will be used to stabilize the price of the commodity on the market through ADMARC across the country. The Strategic Grain Reserve currently has maize in stock and it continues to be replenished. The government is therefore; ready to roll out food relief to food insecure households during the lean period from October, 2015, to March 2016, as recommended by MVAC.”


Mutharika also said, following the MVAC food insecurity report, the government has developed the 2015/2016 Food Insecurity Response Plan which requires a total of US$146.378 million.

Food-Flooded, or Water-Flooded Year?

Panic runs through some farming communities in Malawi like a meandering river in a limitless 'forest' of sand.

The rains started somewhat 'unfaithfully', giving room to the sun to scorch crops at will, and leave farmers struggling to raise more funds for for fertiliser and seeds. Replanting was no longer a question of 'to do' or 'not'; it was a must.

Where I stay-- in Chiwembe, that is-- even those who can afford a bag of maize wore sadness on their faces. Who doesn't appreciate a green cob of maize from the backyard?

But, finally, the rains are on us. And have started wrecking havoc, too.

Where I went today-- Mwanza in Southern Malawi-- the sun was left with more room to scorch the maize crop than a downpour would cure. Now, the maize crop-- at one metre tall-- has stopped growing up and is flowering.

And, then, flush floods are on us in some parts of the country again. Like at Mtayamoyo in the Lower Shire. It rained curses and blessings on Tuesday that a five-year-old child was swept away and some crops were submerged in water.

Surely, it is going to be a mixed year. But not as worse as the 2014/15 growing season.

In case we have forgotten, here is a recap of how life was like and how people struggled to tame the rains and the destruction that followed.

2014/15 Relived

The rains had been anticipated, though nobody expected that they would also destroy what the crops they were supposed to help blossom.

In the end, the January floods in the 2014/15 agricultural season will forever be remembered as an act of nature that forced President Peter Mutharika’s hand to make the first— the State of the Nation Address aside— major decision eight months into his presidency.

What was surprising about the January floods was the fact that they occurred at a time farmers had been expecting unreliable rains after the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services statement announced in a statement on September 8 that the season would be marked by an El Nino spell.

The department added that the country would receive “generally favourable amounts of rainfall”.
“The key factors expected to influence the rainfall over Malawi during the 2014/15 rainfall season include the Sea Surface Temperatures over the tropical oceans of Pacific, Indian and Atlantic. Currently, a weak El-Nino is expected to develop over the Eastern Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean.

“This phenomenon affects rainfall patterns over southern Africa, including Malawi, and is generally associated with erratic rains over the region. The phenomenon is expected to persist up to early part of 2015, hence affecting the 2014/15 rainfall season over the region,” the statement read in part.

El Nino, for us to be on the same page, is a phenomenon which is caused by unusual warming of waters over the Eastern Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean, a development that culminates in depressed rainfall. When temperatures are lower than average, the condition is called La Nina.

The development came after international climate experts and the Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum meeting held in Windhoek, Namibia, in August last year, indicated that, “During October to December 2014, the Southern half of Malawi is expected to have normal to above normal rainfall amounts while the Northern half will have normal to below normal rainfall amounts.”

They further indicated that the southern half of Malawi would have normal to below normal rainfall amounts while the Northern half would receive normal to above normal rainfall amounts between January and March 2015.
The rains did come, of course, but they simply could not stop falling— culminating in the destruction of property worth millions.

Ironically, against the fears of El Nino came rains that could simply not stop falling. Indeed, as the year 2015 draws to a close, some of the victims of the heavy rains are yet to travel back to anything like normal life.

Take, for instance, the case of Talley Losha, the head teacher at Chikonje Primary School in Nsanje.

When rains started falling around 8 o’clock in the morning of January 12, 2015, he had a wife and a child.

Remembers Losha: “As time elapsed, around 6 o’clock in the evening, water flooded the whole sitting room. However, we thought that the situation would be okay, and we stayed put. This was despite the fact that, by this time, the sitting room wall had collapsed.

“But things came to a stand-still around 1 o’clock in the morning. The whole house collapsed. That’s when I realised that raging waters had flooded into the house, and the waters swept me, my wife, our child, and another child we were staying with.

“Fortunately, we managed to cling to trees and, later, we found safety in trees. I sought refuge in a tree some 250 metres from my house, while my wife and our child climbed a tree located some 400 metres from our house.”

In the end, his wife and child were swept away by the raging waters and their bodies have never been recovered.

How, then, can he travel back to anything like normal life— with the void in his heart.

The year 2015 could also be described as a year when one disaster followed another. If the news was not about floods, it was about hunger, victims sleeping in classrooms, cholera taking its toll on those who had survived the floods and hunger.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Social Concern (CfSC) has warned that the country faces food insecurity threats due to unpredictable rains and floods. To make matters worse, the Centre for Social Concern (CfSC) announced that maize, the country’s stable food, was becoming a “tricky” crop to produce due to changes in climate.

In its Basic Needs Basket report for March, CfSC observed that, “To make matters worse, most farmers are still cultivating unimproved varieties that are less productive and resilient to climate change. The recent floods that have hit half of the countries’ districts, have been a wakeup call to farming households and indeed all the stakeholders in the country to rethink the heavy reliance on maize for staple food needs,” reads part of CfSC’s indictment in the report.
“To safeguard the livelihoods of Malawians from economic wide effects of the floods and erratic rains, CfSC believes that there is need for collaborative efforts by all stakeholders to institute and implement pragmatic short, medium and long term strategies that will ameliorate peoples’ suffering and ensure food security at all the times,” added the CfSC the report.
Coming after FEWSNET had indicated in its February Food Security Outlook that an estimated one million households had been affected by the floods and approximately 105, 000 metric tonnes of cropped maize has been washed away across the country due to the floods, the news could not get worse for Malawi.
This was before the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee had indicated that an estimated 615,837 people would need assistance in flood affected areas for two to five months from March 2015onwards, requiring an equivalent of 23,750 tonnes of maize.
This was bad news on top of bad news because Civil Society Agriculture Network had just announced that maize production in the 2014/ 2015 would drop by at least 30 percent.

Unrelenting monkey

But the monkey of the 2015 did not get off the back of Mutharika who, nine months after the January floods, was forced to make a frantic call for food assistance on Monday, September 21. He made the call before his departure for the U.S. to attend the 70th United Nations General Assembly.

Countries such as the United States (US) immediately responded to Mutharika’s call, donating $15.7 million [about 9 billion] worth of food commodities.

U.S. Ambassador to Malawi, Virginia Palmer, said in a statement that, “This assistance is in response to the September 21 appeal for donor support of up to US$146.4 million (K 84 billion) by the Government of Malawi following the Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) findings in July 2015.”

The statement adds that The UN World Food Program would receive and distribute the United States food donation of 6,250 metric tonnes of beans and 2,810 metric tonnes of vitamin A & D fortified vegetable oil as part of a larger food basket designed to meet the nutritional requirements of those in need.

According to the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, 2.8 million people face hunger in 24 districts, necessitating the need for food assistance between the months of October 2015 and March 2016. The development has been blamed on the late onset of rains, severe flooding, mid-season dry spells, and early ending of rains, reducing the country’s maize crop production by 30 percent.

On its part, the government has been setting the ball roling.

Mutharika said on September 21 that his administration was ready to support the 2.8 million people facing hunger and using its own resources has bought 30,000
metric tons of maize from Zambia at the cost of K2.82 billion, and it
is in the process of buying additional 26,000 metric tons, at the
value of about K3.5 billion.

Said Mutharika: “This maize will be used to stabilise the price of the
commodity on the market through Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation across the country.The
Strategic Grain Reserve currently has maize in stock and it continues
to be replenished. The government is therefore; ready to roll out
food relief to food insecure households during the lean period from
October, 2015, to March 2016, as recommended by MVAC.”

Mutharika also said, following the MVAC food insecurity report,
the government has developed the 2015/2016 Food Insecurity Response Plan
which requires a total of US$146.378 million.

Progress

This year’s challenges notwithstanding, there is some positive news emanating from the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA).

DoDMA spokesperson, Jeremiah Mphande, said on November 29 that reports submitted by District Disaster Risk Management officers indicated that food distribution exercises started as early as October in some districts.
“[For example] World Vision (WV) started the distribution for 2015/16 MVAC [Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee] response in Chikwawa on October 1. These distributions marked the commencement of the response to the July 2015 MVAC report. The distributions started with focusing on the flood affected as the team was concurrently conducting registration processes for dry spell affected households in the district,” said Mphande.
Other organisations, including Gift of the Givers, have also been helping victims. Immediately after the floods, the charity embarked on a household food recovery programme aimed at supporting families that were affected by the floods with farming inputs.
Through the project, which is being supported by Malawi Relief Fund in the United Kingdom, the organisation is distributing farmers’ packs containing 10kg of CAN fertilizer, 10kg of Urea, 2kg maize seed, 2kg legume seed and a hoe.

The organisation has since January been assisting the flood victims with relief items such as maize flour, tinned fish, likuni phala, plastic sheets, kitchen utensils, blankets, washing powder and Oral rehydration salt (ORS) in 8 of the 15 districts namely; Nsanje, Chikwawa, Phalombe, Thyolo, Mulanje, Mangochi, Machinga and Balaka.

Other humanitarian organisations such as the World Food Programme also went around with a begging bowl, after announcing that it needed a whopping USD 10.8 million (approximately K5 billion) to scale-up the floods response and satisfy the needs of 616, 00 people it described as “food insecure flood victims”.

After the devastation 2015 imposed on Malawi, one only wonders what 2016 will be like.

Peter Mutharika hints at tough cyber laws

It was a statement enveloped in spirituality, but President Peter Mutharika hinted that the government was 'cooking' something that would see cyber space facing strict rules.
For a time, the Ministry of Justice has been working in the background to concoct laws that would see social media tamed, and cyber space policed.
And, on Saturday, during the consecration of the Very Reverend Father George Desmond Tambala as Bishop of Zomba Diocese at Zomba Catholic Secondary School ground, Mutharika specifically mentioned a case in which a banker based in Blantyre's Bangwe Township was rumoured on social media to have murdered his wife.
However, it turned out that the issue was a figment of the imagination.
“Where is our national integrity? Where is our love for one another? This is a country where people create a story that so and so has killed his wife, and spread the rumour on social media," said Mutharika.
This, on the surface, is an innocent statement made by a concerned president. The truth, however, is that the president was preparing the ground, the national psyche, for bigger things to come.
It could turn out that Malawi may find herself facing tough cyber laws, and those in the driving seat will cite cases that those of the Bangwe banker.
That is the bigger picture.

Malawi's Economy Swings from Boom to Doom

Over six years after Malawi registered the second fastest world economic growth rate, the economy seems to be gaining ground on its free-fall from boom to doom.

According to the World Bank’s January 2016 issue of Global Economic Prospects (GEP), the country does not even appear among the top six countries set to become Africa’s fastest growing economies this year.

The report is titled ‘Global Economic Prospects January 2016: Spillovers amid Weak Growth’.Leading the park of the fastest growing economies on the continent is Ethiopia. The World Bank projects that Ethiopia could register a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 10.50 percent in 2016, up from 9.50 percent last year. Second on the list is the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is expected to register a GDP of 8.50 percent this year. 

The Ivory Coast, with a projected economic growth of 7.70 percent, Mozambique [7.30 percent], Tanzania [7.10 percent], and Rwanda [7.00 percent] are the other countries billed to register significant GDP growth in 2016.

The development comes barely six years after the Economist Intelligence Unit indicated the country’s economy was the second-fastest growing economy in the world, second only to oil-rich Qatar. This did not come as a surprise as the country registered consecutive bumper harvests in the 2005/06, and 2006/07 growing seasons.

"Malawi has had two good years of bumper maize harvest and is in

surplus of about 1,1 million tonnes," Nasinuku Saukila, general

manager of the National Food Reserve Agency told international media in April 2007. 

 

Saukila made the remarks when Malawi was preparing to export 400 000 tonnes of the staple to the then cash-strapped Zimbabwe.
However, diplomatic spats, including with Malawi’s former colonial master, Britain, meant the country was walking a dangerous export path as fuel and sugar became scarce commodities in one of the worst economic disasters to befall the nation. The situation continued until April 2012, when former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika died and his vice, Joyce Banda, took oath of office on April 7, 2012.
Among other recovery measures, Banda introduced a National Economic Recovery Plan.

“Within months of assuming office, I instituted an economic recovery programme to restore macroeconomic stability and lay the foundations for long-term growth. The economic recovery plan includes a combination of measures designed to stabilise our economy [such as the devaluation of the kwacha, the loosening of foreign-exchange controls and strong fiscal discipline], as well as social-protection programmes designed to cushion the poorest in our society from some of the unintended negative consequences of the austerity programme,” Banda told The European Times in 2012.

 The plan supported projects in the agriculture, mining, energy, tourism and infrastructure sectors.

 Banda’s ascension was followed by the January 2013 visit by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, who hailed the economic recovery plans.

Half-way to safety

“During my discussions with Malawi’s leaders, I congratulated President Joyce Banda on the bold economic policies of her administration, including the liberalisation of the foreign-exchange market. I welcome the President’s efforts to address unforeseen challenges through her continued commitment to economic reforms.

“Malawi has already made significant progress in addressing the serious imbalances that were hampering economic growth just a few months ago. Malawi must stay on course, while putting in place social-protection programs to alleviate the impact of the adjustment measures on the poorest households,” said Lagarde, adding: “Malawi is half across the river, and the other bank is within reach.”

 

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), in its first Monetary Policy statement for 2016 released on Thursday, indicated that it “…intends to maintain a tight monetary policy stance in the coming months while ensuring sufficient foreign exchange reserves to support private sector activities”.

 The central bank is, mainly, counting on prospects for improved crop production in the 2015/16 growing season, hinting that it is targeting a 19.3 percent decline in inflation.
 Finance Minister, Goodall Gondwe, said on January 5 that the government is confident it is on track to meet conditions that would attract budgetary support from the World Bank and the European Union totalling up to K50 billion.
 Gondwe has also projected economic stability by May.
 “We are about to complete [sic] some of the conditions,” Gondwe told the media. “For the past three months, we have almost stopped domestic borrowing,” said Gondwe.
 He added that, while the country’s economy is projected to grow by 3 percent this year, a good harvest could spur it towards a five percent economic growth.

Lost path

However, apart from the institutional bodies such as the World Bank and IMF, Gondwe is not so sure about the comeback of bilateral donors, observing that bilateral donors have deserted not only Malawi but other countries as well.

This position was first announced by President Peter Mutharika’s address during the opening of the 46^th Session of Parliament on November 6, 2015.

“For years, we have relied on budgetary aid while dependency mentality deepened and our poverty rose. Now, there is no more budgetary support. The age of donor aid seems to be gone. Our developing partners remain with us only with support outside the budget,” said Mutharika.

According to economic expert, Henry Kachaje, the kwacha’s value continues to fall, “considering that inflation averaged 24 percent in 2015 and that the kwacha devalued by almost 42 percent”.

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM’s) has indicated in its first Monetary Policy statement for 2016 that inflation is forecast to decline to 19.3 percent with a better crop in the 2015/16 growing season. However, the central bank’s rate is higher than the government’s target of 14.2 percent.

Despite RBM’s optimism for a good crop, preliminary results indicate that the country’s green gold, tobacco, may not do well this year.

Tobacco Association of Malawi president, Reuben Maigwa, has cited poor rains as the main challenge.

“Most farmers have planted the crop but, due to low rainfall, there is compromised production. We may not produce sufficient crop and the crop may be marred by poor quality,” said Maigwa in an interview.

The development comes at a time when prospects for tobacco are becoming less promising. Earnings from tobacco dropped by 8 percent last year from $366.3 million (about K205 billion) earned in 2014 to $337.3 million (about K189 billion).

Challenges

According to the 2015 World Bank Assessment on the ease of doing business, the business environment is one of the factors negatively impacting on economic performance.

The assessors put Malawi on position 141 out of 189 countries on ease of doing business. However, the 2015 ranking was a marked improvement from position 164 the previous year. It was the first time in three years for Malawi to register a positive movement on the index.

However, Industry and Trade Minister, Joseph Mwanamvekha, has revealed that Mutharika has directed the ministry to get the country into the top 100 by 2017.

“As a Ministry, we believe it is doable and we are going to achieve that,” said Mwanamvekha.

Some of the steps he identified as signs of government’s commitment include the review and enactment of the Insolvency Act, the Companies Act and the Credit Reference Bureau Act in line with on-going government reforms.

Despite the reforms, however, business captains have bemoaned the country’s “punitive” tax regime, with Indigenous Business Association of Malawi president, Mike Mulombwa, bemoaning the operating environment in 2015.

“The revenue collectors have a narrow tax base and are squeezing money out of the already burdened taxpayers. Secondly, we have the problem of high interest rates, mainly because there are no cut off points for interest in Malawi. In other countries, lenders stop collecting interest on loans once a borrower has paid back half of what they borrowed,” said Mlombwa.

MRA Commissioner General, Tom Malata, told The Business Times of January 6, 2016 that “the Malawi Revenue Authority is expected to collect K597 billion in the 2015/16 fiscal year based on the 2015/16 national budget estimates”.

Malata further indicated that MRA collected K233.6 billion against the target of K247 billion between July and November 2015. This represents 95 percent of the targeted collections.

MRA missed its target for the first quarter of 2015 as it collected K193.58 between July and October 2015. The tax collector also missed its October target by 5 percent as it only collected K53. 03 billion against the target of K55.97 billion.

Mutharika hinted in November that revenue under-collecting was one of the factors fuelling government’s appetite for borrowing.

“Mr. Speaker Sir, it is important to reiterate that the over-expenditure was largely due to revenue under-collection, low grant inflows during the 2014/15 financial year…. It must be remembered that government has committed obligations we cannot escape even in hard times,” said Mutharika.

According to the January GEP issue, the global economy has been misfiring.

Among other things, it observes that global growth slowed to 2.4 percent last year, and is expected to recover at a slower pace than previously envisioned, as growth is projected to reach 2.9 percent in 2016, thanks to a modest recovery in advanced economies.

As Mutharika warned during the opening of the 46^th Session of Parliament, “More than ever, we need economic prudence and innovation. Malawians must understand the changing times we live in. We must work and endure our painful path to economic sovereignty. And we must do what it takes to end the suffering of our people.”

However, People’s Party spokesperson on finance and economic issues, Ralph Jooma, observed that the greatest challenge facing Malawi is over-projection of figures, citing the 2014/15 K930 billion budget as a case in point.

 

Jooma said a realistic budget would have hovered around K800 billion. He said this means exaggeration exacerbates the trend where the country misses out on most of its financial targets.

 Business and economic experts have also raised doubts over the country’s ability to shake off 2015 economic challenges.

Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry president, Newton Kambala, told The Daily Times of January 5 that this year’s economic prospects could be less promising.

 “Obviously, the bad side of this [uncontrolled public finance expenditure] is that businesses will remain uncompetitive and eventually slow down the economic activities. All economic variables have signalled a failing economy with rising inflation, high interest rates, fluctuating foreign exchange rates,” Kambala was quoted as saying.

 On his part, Economics Association of Malawi executive director, Edward Chilima, was quoted as saying, “If nothing happens, the growth would be very low this year, way below projected figures. We don’t see any changes in the agriculture sector; we are still inefficient and we cannot see a very good crop this year”.

Did The Neno Elders Deserve To Die?

Like a stranger, 86-year-old Eliza Kanjete was the first to be cornered— according to one of the Neno police officers who rushed to the scene of four murdered elderly citizens on Monday.

Branded a ‘witch’ on account of her striking old age, she was not the only one earmarked to die, though.

One by one, 76-year-old Elenafa Kanjete, 73-year-old Byson Kanjete and 69-year-old Idesi Kanjete— not necessarily in that order, but all from one family— were chased around their houses by a bloodthirsty mob in a remote corner of Neno.

Too old to run, they were always going to get exhausted earlier than usual, their energy running out, and their legs failing them. Terrified, they must have slumped in the dust, whimpered and pleaded for mercy, before being overrun by the anger, and physical force of Group Village Head Chimbalanga’s subjects in Traditional Authority Dambe, Neno.

“The four died due to severe beatings, according to post-mortem results. We, as police, are sure that we will have a clear picture of what happened, and decide on the next course of action,” said Neno Police spokesperson, Raphael Kaliati, on Thursday.

Granted, death happens. It is an act of nature.

However, when death is forced— like in the Neno case— nobody understands it; not even Cabinet ministers under whose armpit such issues fall.

“Of course, each and every person will die. The Neno elderly people were also going to die some day. But not in this manner. Not on Monday, as it were. The manner of their death is shocking. It shows that the villagers who have done this do not have respect for human life,” said Gender, Children, Women and Social Welfare Minister, Patricia Kaliati, on Thursday.

Everyone is shocked, GVH Chimbalanga inclusive.

“As a leader, I am really shocked with the death of these people because it has never happened in the history of this village. Not even once have we ever had a man killed in this village,” The Daily Times of January 27 quotes Chimbalanga as saying during the funeral ceremony.

Maybe Neno Shelter for the Aged executive director, Reen Kachere, may understand the issue better than others— having served as Neno legislator and Minister responsible for the Elderly and People with Disabilities as recently as three years ago.

“I, too, cannot understand this. In fact, I am ashamed. This is yet another sad chapter in the history of Neno and we need to understand why what has happened has happened, and what we must do to arrest the problem. In fact, we visited the village where the deceased came from on Friday and we have agreed with the community members to establish village committees in order to address such issues before they turn into brutal anger,” Kachere said in an interview. 

Even the Malawi Law Society (MLS), whose members are known to save a life from the gallows through the technical movement of the tongue in court, is shocked. 

Neno Four

So shocked is MLS with the Neno events that, within days, the Kanjetes— hitherto unknown— have become known as the Neno 4.

MLS describes the heinous murder of the Kanjetes as a ‘barbaric’ act.

“The senseless and heinous murders of the Neno 4 is a despicable outrage that the Society condemns without any reservation whatsoever. Such kind of barbaric acts stain our collective conscience and have got absolutely no place in a civilised society.

“They should accordingly be fervently opposed and denounced by all right-thinking Malawians. It is even more saddening to note that it would appear that the Neno 4 were principally targeted because of their old age. It reflects extremely poorly on those who were involved in these murders that instead of protecting these vulnerable people, they turned on them and murdered them,” MLS, in a scathing January 27 statement issued by president John Suzi Banda and Honorary Secretary Khumbo Bonzoe Soko, said.

However, as the nation grapples with shock, MLS also found some time to pick threads of sanity in the confusion. It does so by appealing to reason.

“The Society would like to remind all Malawians that our country is a nation of laws. It is the duty of each and every citizen to observe and uphold these laws. We implore our fellow citizens to report all instances of suspected law breaking to the Malawi Police Service and other government law enforcement agencies for appropriate action to be taken. No severity of our indignation at the sight of illegal behaviour will ever justify the taking of the law into our own hands,” it added. 

Remote voice
Embarrassingly, though, leaders of some Civil Society Organisations who never took time off their “busy schedules” to see the four Kanjetes on their last journey have joined the train of condemners.
The Kanjetes went in simple coffins draped in zitenje [pieces of cloth] in what could remotely be described as a ‘decent’ burial.
Still, failure to attend their funerals and show solidarity did not stop media-hungry CSOs from issuing condemnatory statements, apparently to get credit out of all the darkness that has befallen Neno and the country.

Leaders of nine CSOs, one human rights lawyer and human rights activist, condemned the Neno incident in a statement released on Wednesday, calling on the government to invest in mass sensitisation exercises in a bid to enlighten the country’s citizens.

The statement, titled ‘Civil Society Statement on the Brutal Killings of Four Elderly People and Escaping Prisoner', was signed by Timothy Mtambo of the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, Masauko Thawe of Young Advocates, George Thindwa of Association for Secular Humanism, Gift Trapence of Centre for the Development of People, Robert Mkwezalamba of the Human Rights Consultative Committee.

Others were Victor Mhango of Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance, Mtende Msindama of Lawyers for Human Rights, Charles Kajoloweka of Youth and Society, Darlingtion Harawa of Passion for Women and Children, human rights activist Billy Mayaya and human rights lawyer Chrispine Sibande.

Said the signatories in the statement: “We categorically and unequivocally condemn these barbaric killings and call upon the law enforcers to accord the utmost urgency [sic] the issue deserves so that those responsible whoever they are and wherever they are  should be hunted down, arrested and  be held accountable for this crime that gravely violate [sic] human dignity and human rights,” reads part of the statement.

The CSOs argue that the Malawi Witchcraft Act forbids any trial by ordeal.

Added the CSOs: “In fact, both the Constitution of Malawi and the Penal Code criminalises it. In reference to witchcraft accusations and mob justice against the accused, the Malawi Witchcraft Act – which is part of codified criminal law with prosecutions brought under the Witchcraft Act falling under the jurisdiction of the Magistrate Court— forbids any trial by ordeal that involves “poison, fire, boiling water, or any ordeal which is likely to directly or indirectly result in death or bodily injury to any person”. The Act further forbids accusing anyone of being a witch or practicing witchcraft.”

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women recognises witchcraft accusations and brutal killings of the accused as a form of violence against women and has urged many states including Malawi to take action against witchcraft accusations by challenging the “traditional view” about elderly women being witches through investigating torture and killing of suspected witches and prosecute the perpetrators.

In addition, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, in a 2009 report, called upon states to ensure that all killings of alleged witches are treated as murder, and should be investigated, prosecuted and punished accordingly.

“It is, therefore, clear from this that immunity from prosecution of mob violence against anyone including those accused of witchcraft has no place under both  domestic and international legal jurisdiction hence our candid reminder to law enforcers to move with urgency on the matter,” reads the statement in part.

While both MLS and the nine CSOs are quick to point at instruments, both local and international, anthropologists observe that the law does not always hold its course.

For example, the 2010 issue of ‘Anthropologist’ Journal [Volume 12 issue Number 4] observes that: “Public opinion dictates public ideas of causation. The logic of quasi-traditional reactions to distress and anxiety are little affected by the narrow limits of Western scientific pragmatism.”

In anything, a recent spike in the killing of elderly people— as the Neno case testifies— is a good point in point.

Leap forward

When anger spills over, it finally recedes and it is time the nation looked forward to stemming witchcraft-based violence cases.

MLS suggests that those culpable of the Neno murders should face the long arm of the law. It is payback time and nothing less.

“The Society hopes that the Malawi Police Service will relentlessly pursue those who were responsible for the murder of the Neno 4 so that they can account for their actions in a competent court of law. Should these cases be successfully investigated and the wrongdoers apprehended, the Society offers to the government of Malawi the services of its members for their prosecution, on a pro bono basis,” says MLS in its statement.

The nine CSO leaders and two human rights activists agree, but add another dimension to nipping such acts in the bud.

Reads a part of their statement: “We also implore government through the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ministry of Information, and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare in partnership with Malawi Human Rights Commission to come out and strongly condemn this barbaric act. Besides, its high time government through these Ministries seriously considered embarking on a robust sensitization campaign of the ills of mob violence as it is apparent that there is also limited or lack of understanding of the rights of the accused persons and also the criminality of the act.

“We further call on Malawi Police Service and Ministry of Local Government and internal security to intensify and invest resources on Community policing and awareness raising on the role of the Police and the need for people to coexist but more importantly treat the Police as their first call on any issue of this nature. As CSOs we believe if our police is taken to the people directly or through Community policing structures, such incidents can be avoided as there will always be tips and grapevines of serious actions to take place in a community which If dealt with in time can prevent such incidents. We strongly believe that this will go a long way in eliminating the incidences of mob justice in the country.”

For Kachere, however, the establishment of committees in each district is the way to go.

“These committees should accommodate the elderly and those who accuse the elderly of being witches. That way, we will tackle these cases and stop people from committing these heinous crimes,” says Kachere.

For Kaliati, however, social cash transfers to the elderly and other vulnerable people may help empower the elderly economically, and stop them from relying too much on relatives who may wish to get rid of the social burden by accusing the elderly of practicing witchcraft. Fortunately, the government, under the dynamic leadership of Prof Peter Mutharika, is already doing that,” says Kaliati.

As the bodies of Eliza Kanjete, Elenafa Kanjete, Byson Kanjete and Idesi Kanjete lie peacefully, but dead anyway, it is clear that the dust will take long to settle down. 

The cost of People’s Party’s selective politics

It is becoming clear that losing the May 2014 tripartite elections is the hardest thing the former ruling People’s Party (PP) has had to grapple with in its less than five years of existence.
Just in 2012, the New Vision of Uganda described PP leader Joyce Banda, who had just become Malawi’s first female president, courtesy of death, as “The woman with nine lives”. It told the story of how Banda had set out as a woman activist in the late 1980s, setting a gender equality crusade in a male-dominated society, and her way to State House, among other things.
But that was before Banda and her PP were to face a political litmus test two years later— the May 2014 tripartite elections.
One year seven months after being floored in the tripartite elections, Banda and her beloved PP do not only seem to have the nine lives stuffed out of them; they seem to be looking for a life outside the country, and outside the politics of elections, respectively.
On one hand, Banda is busy looking for a life away from the country she loves so much that she cannot do without while, on the other hand, the PP is looking for a life – within Malawi, of course— outside the politics of Local Government elections.
Otherwise, how do we explain the party’s conspicuous absence in, say, the December 23 Local Government bye-elections in Mtope Ward in Mchinji West Constituency and Ngala Ward in Lilongwe Msozi North Constituency? The PP only contested in the Parliamentary elections in Banda’s home-district of Zomba, where Asma Mponda represented the party’s aspirations.
The party’s spokesperson, Ken Msonda, made an appearance on Times Television’s Breakfast Live programme nine days before the bye-elections in Mchinji, Zomba and Lilongwe, and hinted that the PP would have nothing to do with the bye-elections and, therefore, Malawians. According to Msonda, elections in Malawi are not worth it anymore because “The Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) selects people” instead of administering the elections and letting the winner be.
The PP participation in the Parliamentary election in Zomba was, therefore, somehow soothing, but not comforting because the party still shunned the Local Government bye-elections in Mchinji and Lilongwe.
Whatever the case, the Mec went ahead with the Local Government bye-elections without the PP and, from the results— voter apathy and gender imbalances aside— democracy is at work. Among other not-so-surprising results, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) did the expected by winning the Mtope Ward bye-election. Its candidate, Auleriano Kalemba, floored the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate on the way to the District Council.
It was a similar story in Ngala Ward, where MCP’s Master Rodgers Chazama bought his way to the Lilongwe District Council at the expense of DPP’s Regina Sululu.
Again, as expected, the DPP showed that the MCP is still has a long way to catching up with it in the Eastern Region as its Parliamentary candidate, Mark Michael Botomani, beat five other candidates –Stephen Alexious Chikwapula, independent; Dyson R. Chimwala, independent; Asma W. Mponda, PP; Brazio Namakhuwa, MCP; and Felistas Mpando Sumani, independent— on his way to Parliament.
In all fairness, we do not expect the PP to win each and every election, but its decision to select which battles to fight in, and which ones to shun may not give it a fair view of its political clout.
But its absence in the Local Government bye-elections may be a replica of what is happening at the top level of the party: Physical absence is creating a yawning gap that may make it difficult for party members to catch up with their top leadership while, at the same time, the party is making it difficult for itself in terms of catching up with the electorate in elections like this week’s bye-elections.

FALSE ALLEGATION - NO ONE DIED OF HUNGER!

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

FALSE ALLEGATION - NO ONE DIED OF HUNGER!

The article in the Daily times of January 13, 2016, titled “Man Dies of Hunger” is false and cannot stand medical scrutiny. The article states that a post-mortem was conducted on the body of an unknown hunger victim in the bush in Mzimba, after which the body was buried on the spot. The article further claims that the post-mortem established that the man died of starvation. It is alleged in the same article that “post-mortem results indicated that the man died of hunger related causes.”

No medical professional can conduct a post-mortem exam in the bush and establish the cause of death, especially if the finding is meant to be used in Police investigations. In medical forensic enquiry, “starvation” can never be signed on a medical document as cause of death. In cases of starvation, it is specific complications of severe food deprivation or aggravated pre-existing illnesses that cause death. It is these specific causes and their relation to hunger that are stated on a medical document as cause of death. In this article, although hunger-related causes were mentioned as a cause of death earlier in the article, no specific cause was stated as would normally be the case.

In any case, Police authorities in Mzimba have stated that there was no post-mortem done in the bush where the dead body was found. They know that this deceased person is a non-Malawian because of the head features which they could recognize on the dead body. They suspect that he is a refugee who fell sick and was abandoned by fellow refugees as they passed through bushes at night to avoid detection by Malawi authorities.

Most shocking to us was that when we finally asked the medical person who visited the site, she told us that she found the body to be essentially bones. She could barely recognize some head features, and had the impression that the person had been dead for a long time. She told everybody on site that the cause of death was unknown. She was therefore surprised to hear a newspaper report that a post-mortem established the cause of death to be starvation.

The Police and general public in the area know that Ethiopians, Somalis, Sudanese and others use these routes in their frequent attempts to cross Malawi borders illegally. All this information must have been given to the Daily Times news reporter, but for reasons which everyone can now guess, he never reflected these facts in his report.

In this same article, the newspaper alleges that “the Police have advised the public in the district to avoid walking long distances when they have not eaten anything in the wake of looming hunger in most parts of the country.” The Police have again denied that they gave this warning.

It is obvious that this news reporter had ill intentions in this article. He started by discrediting the State President's policy that nobody shall die of hunger in Malawi. He then went on to lie that a post-mortem established starvation to be the cause of death and further lied about the Police issuing a warning.

This is irresponsible journalism at its highest. It is unpatriotic and most dishonest. We would like all journalists in this country to safeguard the professional integrity of journalism. Such crude fabrications are harmful not just to Government but much more to the country and worse still to the profession itself. We urge the journalists through their professional body to investigate this event and take appropriate disciplinary action.

HON. JAPPIE MHANGO, MP

GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON AND MINISTER OF INFORMATION, TOURISM AND CIVIC EDUCATION

15TH JANUARY, 2016.