Apparently, Bingu wa Mutharika is not the learned fellow we all thought he is. An economist by training, Malawi’s once highly esteemed president has shown himself to be anything but the bright spark we tend to ascribe to holders of PhD degrees in Development Economics. It is a dubious distinction, I am told.
In any event, bright sparks are not known for taking a nation two steps forward only to take it ten steps backwards. It runs counter-current to so called development economics which are premised on sustaining growth; not reversing it.
All things considered then, it would seem that the president has not benefitted Malawi’s economic development in any way, shape or form. Instead, he has unleashed a reign of terror on the peace-loving citizens of the warm heart of Africa. Malawians who endured decades of iron fisted rule under Hastings Kamuzu Banda, have to do it all over again as they face heightened repression under Mutharika. International condemnation has come thick and fast starting with the suspension of aid by Britain.
All is not well in Malawi as fear and anxiety grip the nation amid speculation that August 17 will see yet another round of violent protests. Already 19 people have died in the last protests on July 20. Unmoved by the tragedy, an unrepentant Mutharika has vowed to “smoke out” those behind the protests. The president remains deaf to the cries of the nation and blind to the plight of his people. By all accounts, it seems the tyrant has made a pact with the devil. He has chosen to flirt with death itself.
In a season of popular uprisings which have seen the overthrow of dictatorships notably in Egypt and Tunisia, it is pertinent that Malawians should use this time to reflect on the change they want to see in their country. It is an opportune moment to take stock of the last 47 years of independence and ask why they find themselves more or less in the same place they were during Banda’s three decades in power. To replace a Kamuzu Banda with a Bingu Wa Mutharika is nothing short of a classical exercise in insanity — doing the same thing every single time and expecting different results.
For decades Malawians lived up to their stereotype as a meek and pliant people. It was a stereotype entrenched in their psyche by a culture of oppression and political isolation. It is a much different world now; a world of satellite television, Facebook and Twitter. A world where dissent is relayed in kilobytes per second at lightning speeds across the globe. A world where sentiment is digitised and protest movements are mobilised in less time than it takes to convene a town hall meeting. It is a world undergoing dramatic change; the kind of change the likes of Bingu fear and yet underestimate. The kind of change whose force the people dare not underestimate lest they be thrust back into the clutches of dictatorship. It is a world Malawians inhabit and must embrace wholeheartedly so that they can be assured of a better future.
In April this year, Africa bade goodbye to Ivorian strongman Laurent Gbagbo after he was captured from his underground hideout in the presidential palace. Shortly after his capture, Gbagbo appeared in a white vest sweating profusely and looking disoriented. He was displayed like a hunted animal in a show of humiliation that could have been avoided. It was an undignified scene. Others have fared much worse. Next door to Ivory Coast, Samuel Doe of Liberia suffered a much terrible fate in 1990 when upon his capture, he was tortured and assassinated. His corpse was then mutilated and paraded about town in a wheelbarrow. That is hardly a fitting way for a leader to bid farewell.
Mutharika need not tempt fate. History is replete with examples of the terrible demise meted against power mongers who saw the writing on the wall but chose to ignore its warnings. Malawians soon to be engulfed in the coming tsunami of the double dip recession, will no doubt restrain their pent up fury. After all, they are a people not given to a culture of violence. Without the restraint however, it is feared that the end of those bent on restraining their freedom and prosperity, could be brutal. Given all of this, we can only hope and pray that the learned fellow in the presidential palace will of necessity, redeem himself, correctly interpret the mood of the people and muster the resolve to do the right thing. The wrong thing is just too ghastly to contemplate.
Source: http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/jeremiahkure/2011/08/10/malawi-on-the-precipice-too-ghastly-to-contemplate/
Friday, August 12, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Malawi Government Shocked by MCC Aid Withholding Decision
Presidential spokesman Heatherwick Ntaba says the July anti-government protests were peaceful in most places
Malawi’s government said it is surprised by the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) decision to withhold $350 million worth of aid package to Malawi because of recent deadly clashes between police and anti-government protesters.
The MCC, the U.S. government’s agency that assists development countries, announced Tuesday that it was concerned about the Malawi government's use of force and restrictions on media reporting of the demonstrations.
At least 18 people were killed last Wednesday and Thursday as police battled street protesters in three Malawian cities.
But Heatherwick Ntaba, spokesman for President Bingu wa Mutharika, said the demonstrations were peaceful and became violent only when protesters began looting and throwing petrol bombs at police.
“What we can say on our side is that we are surprised they (MCC) or made such an announcement before hearing the facts on the ground because the demonstration in the country per se happened peacefully. There was no violent incident whatsoever. However in places far away, there were people looting, breaking into stores and banks. And this was not part of the demonstration,” he said.
At least 18 people were killed last Wednesday and Thursday as police battled street protesters in three Malawian cities.
Ntaba said the 18 fatalities were looters and not demonstrators.
“18 people were killed during riots on the following day in places quite far away from the demonstration cite. These are facts that can be verified. Now, these were not demonstrators; these were people who were looting banks and burning shops on the 21st (of July) away from the demonstration area,” Ntaba said.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is designed to reward developing countries that protect human rights and practice the rule of law.
Its decision to withhold $350 million worth of aid package to Malawi followed Britain’s decision recently to cut its economic aid to Malawi in the wake of a diplomatic row between the two countries after President Mutharika deported Britain's envoy for describing the president in a leaked cable as "autocratic and intolerant."
Ntaba said President Mutharika is not “autocratic”. Instead, he said the president follows laws enacted by Malawi’s democratically elected parliament.
“That’s a matter of opinion. I think they would make claims like that to justify some of their demands. The president is consenting to laws that have been passed by a democratically elected parliament,” Ntaba said.
A coalition of up to 80 civil society organizations and religious and student groups organized the demonstrations on July 20 in three main Malawian cities to protest shortages of foreign currency and fuel, poor economic conditions and increasing repression by the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
Ntaba said President Mutharika is aware of the civil society organizations’ demands. But he said the group has yet to respond to the president’s call for dialogue.
“The president and the government are aware of the demands that the civil society people are making. That’s why on the 20th of July the president called them all and said let’s meet. He said if you are ready and put your team for discussion together in three days, I’ll be ready to meet you. But so far the civil society has not presented their team for these negotiations,” Ntaba said.
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Butty-Malawi-MCC-Aid-Withholding-React-Ntaba-28july11-126306108.html
Malawi’s government said it is surprised by the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) decision to withhold $350 million worth of aid package to Malawi because of recent deadly clashes between police and anti-government protesters.
The MCC, the U.S. government’s agency that assists development countries, announced Tuesday that it was concerned about the Malawi government's use of force and restrictions on media reporting of the demonstrations.
At least 18 people were killed last Wednesday and Thursday as police battled street protesters in three Malawian cities.
But Heatherwick Ntaba, spokesman for President Bingu wa Mutharika, said the demonstrations were peaceful and became violent only when protesters began looting and throwing petrol bombs at police.
“What we can say on our side is that we are surprised they (MCC) or made such an announcement before hearing the facts on the ground because the demonstration in the country per se happened peacefully. There was no violent incident whatsoever. However in places far away, there were people looting, breaking into stores and banks. And this was not part of the demonstration,” he said.
At least 18 people were killed last Wednesday and Thursday as police battled street protesters in three Malawian cities.
Ntaba said the 18 fatalities were looters and not demonstrators.
“18 people were killed during riots on the following day in places quite far away from the demonstration cite. These are facts that can be verified. Now, these were not demonstrators; these were people who were looting banks and burning shops on the 21st (of July) away from the demonstration area,” Ntaba said.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is designed to reward developing countries that protect human rights and practice the rule of law.
Its decision to withhold $350 million worth of aid package to Malawi followed Britain’s decision recently to cut its economic aid to Malawi in the wake of a diplomatic row between the two countries after President Mutharika deported Britain's envoy for describing the president in a leaked cable as "autocratic and intolerant."
Ntaba said President Mutharika is not “autocratic”. Instead, he said the president follows laws enacted by Malawi’s democratically elected parliament.
“That’s a matter of opinion. I think they would make claims like that to justify some of their demands. The president is consenting to laws that have been passed by a democratically elected parliament,” Ntaba said.
A coalition of up to 80 civil society organizations and religious and student groups organized the demonstrations on July 20 in three main Malawian cities to protest shortages of foreign currency and fuel, poor economic conditions and increasing repression by the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
Ntaba said President Mutharika is aware of the civil society organizations’ demands. But he said the group has yet to respond to the president’s call for dialogue.
“The president and the government are aware of the demands that the civil society people are making. That’s why on the 20th of July the president called them all and said let’s meet. He said if you are ready and put your team for discussion together in three days, I’ll be ready to meet you. But so far the civil society has not presented their team for these negotiations,” Ntaba said.
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Butty-Malawi-MCC-Aid-Withholding-React-Ntaba-28july11-126306108.html
Iran gives Malawi $50m mining aid
2011-07-28 21:18
Blantyre - Iran has given $50 million in aid to develop Malawi's mining industry, the two countries said on Thursday, two days after the United States suspended an aid package following a deadly crackdown on protests.
"We have had very strong diplomatic relations and it is our obligation to support developing countries such as Malawi," Iran's charge d'affaires Bahman Ahmadi said in a statement issued by Malawi's development ministry.
"In total, the Islamic Republic of Iran has committed $400 million of development assistance to developing countries, of which $50 million will be given to Malawi," Ahmadi said in the statement.
Malawi's small mining industry is dominated by a uranium mine in the north of the country, owned by Australia's Paladin, which accounts for about five percent of gross domestic product.
"For a long time, Malawi's economy has relied heavily on agricultural production but our economy needs to diversify if we are to experience further sustained economic growth," development minister Abbie Shawa said in the statement.
"Challenges were being faced in areas of training of geological and mining experts, development of databases to store data and information that is crucial to mineral identification, exploration and processing," Shawa said.
The Iranian aid was announced two days after the United States suspended a $350-million grant for Malawi's energy sector out of concern over authorities' crackdown on street protests that left 19 dead last week.
Protesters accused President Bingu wa Mutharika of mismanaging the economy and trampling on democratic rights, but he accused the opposition of attempting a coup.
Britain, another key donor, also suspended aid to Malawi this month out of concern over economic management and governance.
Iran's uranium enrichment programme is at the centre of a bitter row between Tehran and major world powers, with the country under UN sanctions as well as tougher measures by the United States and European Union.
- SAPA
http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Iran-gives-Malawi-50m-mining-aid-20110728
Blantyre - Iran has given $50 million in aid to develop Malawi's mining industry, the two countries said on Thursday, two days after the United States suspended an aid package following a deadly crackdown on protests.
"We have had very strong diplomatic relations and it is our obligation to support developing countries such as Malawi," Iran's charge d'affaires Bahman Ahmadi said in a statement issued by Malawi's development ministry.
"In total, the Islamic Republic of Iran has committed $400 million of development assistance to developing countries, of which $50 million will be given to Malawi," Ahmadi said in the statement.
Malawi's small mining industry is dominated by a uranium mine in the north of the country, owned by Australia's Paladin, which accounts for about five percent of gross domestic product.
"For a long time, Malawi's economy has relied heavily on agricultural production but our economy needs to diversify if we are to experience further sustained economic growth," development minister Abbie Shawa said in the statement.
"Challenges were being faced in areas of training of geological and mining experts, development of databases to store data and information that is crucial to mineral identification, exploration and processing," Shawa said.
The Iranian aid was announced two days after the United States suspended a $350-million grant for Malawi's energy sector out of concern over authorities' crackdown on street protests that left 19 dead last week.
Protesters accused President Bingu wa Mutharika of mismanaging the economy and trampling on democratic rights, but he accused the opposition of attempting a coup.
Britain, another key donor, also suspended aid to Malawi this month out of concern over economic management and governance.
Iran's uranium enrichment programme is at the centre of a bitter row between Tehran and major world powers, with the country under UN sanctions as well as tougher measures by the United States and European Union.
- SAPA
http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Iran-gives-Malawi-50m-mining-aid-20110728
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Statement by the Leader of Opposition in Botswana
Statement by the Leader of Opposition, Botsalo Ntuane,
delivered on Tuesday 26 July 2011 in the National Assembly
on developments in Malawi and how the Botswana government should respond.
The Opposition Collective in the Parliament of Botswana joins the rest of the democratic community in condemning the cold blooded massacre, on 20th and 21st July 2011 of 18 demonstrators by the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika. This terrible act of violence against unarmed civilians, protesting the escalating cost of living, fuel and foreign exchange shortages, as well as repression and violation of human rights, is unprecedented in the history of Malawi. We note that even during the one party dictatorship of Hastings Kamuzu Banda, nothing on this scale was ever visited on the civilian population by the government. The economic problems in Malawi which precipitated the demonstrations have been authored by a stubborn President Mutharika whose deteriorating human rights record has forced donors to cut off much needed aid.
As the Opposition Collective, we can rightly proclaim we saw this coming.
The nation will recall that on 1 April 2011, the Chairman of the Botswana Movement for Democracy(BMD) and also Member of Parliament for Lobatse addressed a press conference in the precincts of Parliament announcing a boycott of the official opening of the Lobatse Stadium facility by President Mutharika. Hon Modubule’s stance which reflected the indignation of the Opposition Collective was premised on well founded concerns at a disturbing trend of developments in Malawi.
In a pattern of behaviour which suggested that state violence will soon be perpetrated against the citizenry, President Mutharika has in the past incited the youth cadres of his Democratic Progressive Party to assault opposition supporters who dared criticize him.
Another consideration which informed our boycott of President Mutharika was his display of intolerance to critical views, when he assented to Section 46 Penal Code Amendment Bill which grants the Minister for Information the power to arbitrarily close down publications, outside due process. To us this assault on the press, which we consider a critical guardian of democracy and good governance was unacceptable.
The delinquent conduct of President Mutharika knows no bounds. We noted with concern the sustained attacks on the Non Governmental Organisations, leading to some activists fleeing into exile because they fear for their lives.
Like the proverbial bull in a china shop, immediately after his departure from Botswana, President Mutharika expelled the ‘British High Commissioner for describing him in a diplomatic cable as ‘autocratic and intolerant of criticism”
We contend that President Mutharika is being aided and abetted in his campaign of repression by the government of Botswana which continues to treat him like a distinguished statesman when many in the international community are shunning him. It should be a source of shame that President Khama, in a display of bad judgment, and against our counsel, invited this dictator to our country. In its unbridled contempt for the Opposition, this government disregards all our advice, the consequence of which is a situation where our country is today associated with rogues like President Mutharika. It is shocking to many that a government with a predilection for playing to the international gallery on issues of democracy and human rights has remained silent in the face of the unfolding tragedy in Malawi. To us this silence means the government of Botswana condones the deplorable actions of President Mutharika.
We pose this question, how different is President Mutharika from Muammar
Gadaffi in Libya, Bashar Al Assad in Syria, Omar Al Bashir in Sudan, and all the other dictators that have attracted the sanctimonious wrath of the Botswana government over rights violations and atrocities against their own citizens?
The deafening silence, which can only be ascribed to the embarrassment felt by the Botswana government, amounts to a betrayal of the people of Malawi, particularly victims of the state sponsored violence. Indeed contrary of the grandstanding characterizing previous statements about how the Botswana government sides with the people against repressive regimes, the simple truth is that these expressions of support are mere lip service; and just like those it condemns, the Botswana government practices double standards, and will side with its friends in power, hence the tacit support given to President Mutharika on account of the ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ posture.
To this end the Parliamentary Opposition Collective demands the following from the Botswana government;
1. An unequivocal statement condemning the actions of the government of President Mutharika.
3. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Phandu Skelemani to summon the High Commissioner of Malawi to Botswana for a meeting at which he will convey the statement of condemnation.
4. To demand an immediate end to the ongoing harassment, detention and torture of opposition and civil society activists; many of whom are now in hiding.
5. To support an investigation by the International Criminal Court on the killings in Malawi, and for such support to be extended to prosecutions that will follow.
6. To apologise to both the people of Botswana and Malawi for hosting President Mutharika in April 2011.
7. To undertake to listen to the counsel of the Opposition Collective in future and undertake not to invite any dictators to Botswana.
Failure to do any of the above will give true meaning to the idiom that we judge you by the company you keep.
Botswana and the international community should henceforth judge this government by the friends it keeps in the form of President Mutharika and his murderous regime.
End.
delivered on Tuesday 26 July 2011 in the National Assembly
on developments in Malawi and how the Botswana government should respond.
The Opposition Collective in the Parliament of Botswana joins the rest of the democratic community in condemning the cold blooded massacre, on 20th and 21st July 2011 of 18 demonstrators by the government of President Bingu wa Mutharika. This terrible act of violence against unarmed civilians, protesting the escalating cost of living, fuel and foreign exchange shortages, as well as repression and violation of human rights, is unprecedented in the history of Malawi. We note that even during the one party dictatorship of Hastings Kamuzu Banda, nothing on this scale was ever visited on the civilian population by the government. The economic problems in Malawi which precipitated the demonstrations have been authored by a stubborn President Mutharika whose deteriorating human rights record has forced donors to cut off much needed aid.
As the Opposition Collective, we can rightly proclaim we saw this coming.
The nation will recall that on 1 April 2011, the Chairman of the Botswana Movement for Democracy(BMD) and also Member of Parliament for Lobatse addressed a press conference in the precincts of Parliament announcing a boycott of the official opening of the Lobatse Stadium facility by President Mutharika. Hon Modubule’s stance which reflected the indignation of the Opposition Collective was premised on well founded concerns at a disturbing trend of developments in Malawi.
In a pattern of behaviour which suggested that state violence will soon be perpetrated against the citizenry, President Mutharika has in the past incited the youth cadres of his Democratic Progressive Party to assault opposition supporters who dared criticize him.
Another consideration which informed our boycott of President Mutharika was his display of intolerance to critical views, when he assented to Section 46 Penal Code Amendment Bill which grants the Minister for Information the power to arbitrarily close down publications, outside due process. To us this assault on the press, which we consider a critical guardian of democracy and good governance was unacceptable.
The delinquent conduct of President Mutharika knows no bounds. We noted with concern the sustained attacks on the Non Governmental Organisations, leading to some activists fleeing into exile because they fear for their lives.
Like the proverbial bull in a china shop, immediately after his departure from Botswana, President Mutharika expelled the ‘British High Commissioner for describing him in a diplomatic cable as ‘autocratic and intolerant of criticism”
We contend that President Mutharika is being aided and abetted in his campaign of repression by the government of Botswana which continues to treat him like a distinguished statesman when many in the international community are shunning him. It should be a source of shame that President Khama, in a display of bad judgment, and against our counsel, invited this dictator to our country. In its unbridled contempt for the Opposition, this government disregards all our advice, the consequence of which is a situation where our country is today associated with rogues like President Mutharika. It is shocking to many that a government with a predilection for playing to the international gallery on issues of democracy and human rights has remained silent in the face of the unfolding tragedy in Malawi. To us this silence means the government of Botswana condones the deplorable actions of President Mutharika.
We pose this question, how different is President Mutharika from Muammar
Gadaffi in Libya, Bashar Al Assad in Syria, Omar Al Bashir in Sudan, and all the other dictators that have attracted the sanctimonious wrath of the Botswana government over rights violations and atrocities against their own citizens?
The deafening silence, which can only be ascribed to the embarrassment felt by the Botswana government, amounts to a betrayal of the people of Malawi, particularly victims of the state sponsored violence. Indeed contrary of the grandstanding characterizing previous statements about how the Botswana government sides with the people against repressive regimes, the simple truth is that these expressions of support are mere lip service; and just like those it condemns, the Botswana government practices double standards, and will side with its friends in power, hence the tacit support given to President Mutharika on account of the ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ posture.
To this end the Parliamentary Opposition Collective demands the following from the Botswana government;
1. An unequivocal statement condemning the actions of the government of President Mutharika.
3. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon Phandu Skelemani to summon the High Commissioner of Malawi to Botswana for a meeting at which he will convey the statement of condemnation.
4. To demand an immediate end to the ongoing harassment, detention and torture of opposition and civil society activists; many of whom are now in hiding.
5. To support an investigation by the International Criminal Court on the killings in Malawi, and for such support to be extended to prosecutions that will follow.
6. To apologise to both the people of Botswana and Malawi for hosting President Mutharika in April 2011.
7. To undertake to listen to the counsel of the Opposition Collective in future and undertake not to invite any dictators to Botswana.
Failure to do any of the above will give true meaning to the idiom that we judge you by the company you keep.
Botswana and the international community should henceforth judge this government by the friends it keeps in the form of President Mutharika and his murderous regime.
End.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Malawi on the Brink: The July 20 Movement
Posted July 21st, 2011 by PT Zeleza
Yesterday, July 20, Malawi was engulfed by protests and riots against
President Bingu wa Mutharika's increasingly bankrupt regime, which
left several people dead and many others injured. There was also
widespread destruction of property across the country's major cities.
The immediate causes of the growing popular disaffection include
deepening authoritarianism and arbitrary power reflected in the
passage of draconian laws against civil liberties; worsening economic
mismanagement as manifested in shortages of fuel and foreign exchange,
power outages, rising unemployment and inflation; the dangerous
mobilization of ethnicity as evident in the redistribution of jobs in
the public sector to favor people from the president's ethnic group;
and desperate attempts to manipulate the president's succession for
his brother, a former law professor at Washington University in St.
Louis, Missouri.
The protests and riots of July 20 are fundamentally about governance
and development, the enduring desire among Malawians for the
establishment of a sustainable democratic developmental state. It
underscores the fact that economic growth without development is not
enough. Over the last five years Malawi's growth has averaged 7%,
peaking at 9.8% in 2008. But the benefits have gone to a few as
poverty remains rampant. Also, this growth hardly put a dent in the
country's reliance on foreign aid, which accounts for up to 40% of the
national budget. As Dambisa Moyo has demonstrated in her controversial
book, Dead Aid, aid has certainly not provided a reliable recipe for
sustainable development in Malawi.
Contrary to stereotypes about the docility and peaceful nature of
Malawians, Malawi has a long history of mass protests going back to
the colonial era including the struggles against the Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland that saw the demise of the federation and the
country's independence in 1964. In the early 1990s, mass protests
culminated in the collapse of President Banda's iron-fisted
dictatorship in the multi-party elections of 1994. As with the "first
independence" from colonialism, the heady hopes of progressive
transformation hit against the sturdy structural blockages of the
postcolonial order rooted in the deeply entrenched deformities of the
colonial state.
The next ten years were marked by fitful advances and setbacks under
President Muluzi's lackluster regime. As in much of Africa undergoing
democratic transitions it became increasingly clear that the road to
democratic consolidation and development would be long and bumpy.
Africa's wily dictators and unimaginative political class seemed keen
to frustrate popular demands and hopes for the "second independence"
from postcolonial authoritarianism and stagnation. After failing to
extend his rule for an unconstitutional third term, President Muluzi
thrust the relatively unknown international technocrat Bingu wa
Mutharika upon the nation as his successor. Predictably, the two men
fell out as President Mutharika sought to consolidate his power. He
bolted from the United Democratic Party still chaired by former
President Muluzi and formed his own party, the Democratic People's
Party.
During President Mutharika's first term, a strong opposition prevented
this political comedy turning tragic. Held in check by the opposition
and surrounded by some competent ministers, the country registered
remarkable economic growth and made noticeable democratic advances. In
the 2009 elections, the DPP was rewarded with an overwhelming victory.
That is when the problems started and the political gloves were
removed to expose the entrenched structural instabilities of Malawi's
political order and the deep insecurities of the president himself.
Malawi, like many postcolonial African countries, suffers from age-old
processes and patterns of uneven development that intersect with wide
regional, class, gender, and generational disparities, which
politicians are adept at mobilizing and exploiting.
Above all, as Frantz Fanon noted in his searing indictment of the
postcolonial elite in The Wretched of the Earth, the commitments of
Malawi's craven political class is more towards ‘primitive
accumulation' than a national project of broad-based development and
democracy. President Mutharika embodies the contradictions of Malawi's
political system and the crassness of Malawi's political class. Like
so many other so-called ‘peaceful' African states, such as Senegal,
the country has yet to make a generational transition in its top
leadership. Thus, while many sectors are dominated by the
post-independence generation, the president is an octogenarian
autocratic who should have long retired from public life as he clearly
is out of tune with the aspirations of his relatively young nation.
President Mutharika, 77, belongs to the nationalist generation that
brought the "first independence" while the vast majority of the
population was born after 1964 indeed 45% of the country's 15.2
million people are below the age of 15. To them the president's
nationalist anxieties and preoccupations with colonialism and
admonition of Britain, the former colonial power, whose ambassador was
expelled from Malawi several months ago for referring to him in a
leaked embassy cable as "ever more autocratic and intolerant of
criticism", are outdated and irrelevant.
Added to this is the president's apparent megalomania evident in his
love for titles including unearned academic titles. For someone who
never received a PhD from an accredited institution and never taught
at a university he insists on being called His Excellence Ngwazi Dr.
Professor Bingu wa Mutharika. He fancies himself an economist and
mister-know-it-all. He has removed competent people from key economic
ministries and institutions. He increasingly bases economic policy on
his misguided understanding of Malawian, let alone African, economic
and political history as is clear from his ill-written 700 page book,
The African Dream: From Poverty to Posterity, published by his
daughter and launched to great fanfare earlier this year.
It is the president's outdated fidelity to the nationalist politics of
the 1960s that partly explains his myopic admiration for Malawi's
founding president, whose policies and even dress he tries hard to
emulate. The two presidents also share another commonality: they came
back to rule after decades spent in exile and exhibit deep disdain for
their people. They represent the ugly face of diaspora politics, its
modernist conceits, its superiority complexes. President Mutharika's
contempt for Malawians is evident in his condescending speeches and
his shock that the people of Malawi are not grateful for his
leadership. In a bizarre juxtaposition on July 20, while people were
demonstrating around the country, the president was giving a rambling
"public lecture" on the country's political independence, sovereignty,
good governance and the economy. The gods showed their wrath and
ironic humor when power went off for thirty minutes as the professor
president was pontificating.
Like President Banda, whose thirty year dictatorship came to an
ignoble end, President Mutharika is assured of being cut to size by
the people he despises and has come to take for granted. Indeed, of
Malawi's three presidents to date, he is arguably the worst. He
combines President Banda's authoritarianism without the competence of
his government, and President Muluzi's corruption without his
government's tolerance for democracy. The way President Mutharika has
bungled the country's economy and politics boggles the mind. He badly
mishandled the July 19 protests, first banning them and making
threats, then allowing them to go ahead, before orchestrating a court
injunction to stop them on the night of July 20, which only inflamed
the crowds that gathered the next morning and ensured the violence
that ensued. Perhaps the worst mistake he has made is deploying the
military to patrol the streets and re-establish order. African history
shows that governments that come to rely on the military to maintain
civil order create the very conditions for their ouster by the
military.
President Mutharika has unleashed a beast that will consume his
regime. The longer the impasse continues, the more both the military
and masses will feel emboldened. The danger lies in the military
taking matters into its own hands. The best scenario would be for the
military to step back and allow the political process to take its
course as they did in the aftermath of the 1992 referendum that
introduced multi-party democracy. Having overthrown President Banda's
dictatorship, the people of Malawi can take care of President
Mutharika's bankrupt regime by themselves sooner or later.
The regional and international community can assist them by isolating
the regime. This might include imposing targeted sanctions at the
president and his coterie of key advisors and beneficiaries. In the
meantime, human rights activists must keep score of the state
perpetrators of violence against peaceful demonstrators and opponents
of the regime for eventual legal accountability whether in the
country's courts or even the International Criminal Court.
At the time of this writing, the international media is reporting that
at least 18 people have been killed by trigger-happy police and some
thuggish elements from President Mutharika's ruling party who were
instigated and called upon prior to the demonstrations to "deal with"
anyone demonstrating against the government. President Mutharika's
moral bankruptcy and failure of political leadership has been revealed
in his reaction to this tragic turn of events. In a brief, rumbling
address to the nation delivered on state controlled radio and
television, he failed to show any real understanding of the root
causes of the problems that have brought ordinary Malawian citizens to
the streets. Instead, all he could offer by way of explanation is the
bizarre claim that the demonstrators are enemies of the country who
have been instigated or are led by Satan. More tragically, in his
speech President Mutharika failed to do what any decent political
leader would do in such a situation: the basic act of offering
condolences to the families of the 18 individuals killed over the last
twenty-four hours. He simply failed to acknowledge or mention these
innocent deaths. Malawi, or indeed any other country, does not deserve
such leadership.
First Written July 21, 2011
Yesterday, July 20, Malawi was engulfed by protests and riots against
President Bingu wa Mutharika's increasingly bankrupt regime, which
left several people dead and many others injured. There was also
widespread destruction of property across the country's major cities.
The immediate causes of the growing popular disaffection include
deepening authoritarianism and arbitrary power reflected in the
passage of draconian laws against civil liberties; worsening economic
mismanagement as manifested in shortages of fuel and foreign exchange,
power outages, rising unemployment and inflation; the dangerous
mobilization of ethnicity as evident in the redistribution of jobs in
the public sector to favor people from the president's ethnic group;
and desperate attempts to manipulate the president's succession for
his brother, a former law professor at Washington University in St.
Louis, Missouri.
The protests and riots of July 20 are fundamentally about governance
and development, the enduring desire among Malawians for the
establishment of a sustainable democratic developmental state. It
underscores the fact that economic growth without development is not
enough. Over the last five years Malawi's growth has averaged 7%,
peaking at 9.8% in 2008. But the benefits have gone to a few as
poverty remains rampant. Also, this growth hardly put a dent in the
country's reliance on foreign aid, which accounts for up to 40% of the
national budget. As Dambisa Moyo has demonstrated in her controversial
book, Dead Aid, aid has certainly not provided a reliable recipe for
sustainable development in Malawi.
Contrary to stereotypes about the docility and peaceful nature of
Malawians, Malawi has a long history of mass protests going back to
the colonial era including the struggles against the Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland that saw the demise of the federation and the
country's independence in 1964. In the early 1990s, mass protests
culminated in the collapse of President Banda's iron-fisted
dictatorship in the multi-party elections of 1994. As with the "first
independence" from colonialism, the heady hopes of progressive
transformation hit against the sturdy structural blockages of the
postcolonial order rooted in the deeply entrenched deformities of the
colonial state.
The next ten years were marked by fitful advances and setbacks under
President Muluzi's lackluster regime. As in much of Africa undergoing
democratic transitions it became increasingly clear that the road to
democratic consolidation and development would be long and bumpy.
Africa's wily dictators and unimaginative political class seemed keen
to frustrate popular demands and hopes for the "second independence"
from postcolonial authoritarianism and stagnation. After failing to
extend his rule for an unconstitutional third term, President Muluzi
thrust the relatively unknown international technocrat Bingu wa
Mutharika upon the nation as his successor. Predictably, the two men
fell out as President Mutharika sought to consolidate his power. He
bolted from the United Democratic Party still chaired by former
President Muluzi and formed his own party, the Democratic People's
Party.
During President Mutharika's first term, a strong opposition prevented
this political comedy turning tragic. Held in check by the opposition
and surrounded by some competent ministers, the country registered
remarkable economic growth and made noticeable democratic advances. In
the 2009 elections, the DPP was rewarded with an overwhelming victory.
That is when the problems started and the political gloves were
removed to expose the entrenched structural instabilities of Malawi's
political order and the deep insecurities of the president himself.
Malawi, like many postcolonial African countries, suffers from age-old
processes and patterns of uneven development that intersect with wide
regional, class, gender, and generational disparities, which
politicians are adept at mobilizing and exploiting.
Above all, as Frantz Fanon noted in his searing indictment of the
postcolonial elite in The Wretched of the Earth, the commitments of
Malawi's craven political class is more towards ‘primitive
accumulation' than a national project of broad-based development and
democracy. President Mutharika embodies the contradictions of Malawi's
political system and the crassness of Malawi's political class. Like
so many other so-called ‘peaceful' African states, such as Senegal,
the country has yet to make a generational transition in its top
leadership. Thus, while many sectors are dominated by the
post-independence generation, the president is an octogenarian
autocratic who should have long retired from public life as he clearly
is out of tune with the aspirations of his relatively young nation.
President Mutharika, 77, belongs to the nationalist generation that
brought the "first independence" while the vast majority of the
population was born after 1964 indeed 45% of the country's 15.2
million people are below the age of 15. To them the president's
nationalist anxieties and preoccupations with colonialism and
admonition of Britain, the former colonial power, whose ambassador was
expelled from Malawi several months ago for referring to him in a
leaked embassy cable as "ever more autocratic and intolerant of
criticism", are outdated and irrelevant.
Added to this is the president's apparent megalomania evident in his
love for titles including unearned academic titles. For someone who
never received a PhD from an accredited institution and never taught
at a university he insists on being called His Excellence Ngwazi Dr.
Professor Bingu wa Mutharika. He fancies himself an economist and
mister-know-it-all. He has removed competent people from key economic
ministries and institutions. He increasingly bases economic policy on
his misguided understanding of Malawian, let alone African, economic
and political history as is clear from his ill-written 700 page book,
The African Dream: From Poverty to Posterity, published by his
daughter and launched to great fanfare earlier this year.
It is the president's outdated fidelity to the nationalist politics of
the 1960s that partly explains his myopic admiration for Malawi's
founding president, whose policies and even dress he tries hard to
emulate. The two presidents also share another commonality: they came
back to rule after decades spent in exile and exhibit deep disdain for
their people. They represent the ugly face of diaspora politics, its
modernist conceits, its superiority complexes. President Mutharika's
contempt for Malawians is evident in his condescending speeches and
his shock that the people of Malawi are not grateful for his
leadership. In a bizarre juxtaposition on July 20, while people were
demonstrating around the country, the president was giving a rambling
"public lecture" on the country's political independence, sovereignty,
good governance and the economy. The gods showed their wrath and
ironic humor when power went off for thirty minutes as the professor
president was pontificating.
Like President Banda, whose thirty year dictatorship came to an
ignoble end, President Mutharika is assured of being cut to size by
the people he despises and has come to take for granted. Indeed, of
Malawi's three presidents to date, he is arguably the worst. He
combines President Banda's authoritarianism without the competence of
his government, and President Muluzi's corruption without his
government's tolerance for democracy. The way President Mutharika has
bungled the country's economy and politics boggles the mind. He badly
mishandled the July 19 protests, first banning them and making
threats, then allowing them to go ahead, before orchestrating a court
injunction to stop them on the night of July 20, which only inflamed
the crowds that gathered the next morning and ensured the violence
that ensued. Perhaps the worst mistake he has made is deploying the
military to patrol the streets and re-establish order. African history
shows that governments that come to rely on the military to maintain
civil order create the very conditions for their ouster by the
military.
President Mutharika has unleashed a beast that will consume his
regime. The longer the impasse continues, the more both the military
and masses will feel emboldened. The danger lies in the military
taking matters into its own hands. The best scenario would be for the
military to step back and allow the political process to take its
course as they did in the aftermath of the 1992 referendum that
introduced multi-party democracy. Having overthrown President Banda's
dictatorship, the people of Malawi can take care of President
Mutharika's bankrupt regime by themselves sooner or later.
The regional and international community can assist them by isolating
the regime. This might include imposing targeted sanctions at the
president and his coterie of key advisors and beneficiaries. In the
meantime, human rights activists must keep score of the state
perpetrators of violence against peaceful demonstrators and opponents
of the regime for eventual legal accountability whether in the
country's courts or even the International Criminal Court.
At the time of this writing, the international media is reporting that
at least 18 people have been killed by trigger-happy police and some
thuggish elements from President Mutharika's ruling party who were
instigated and called upon prior to the demonstrations to "deal with"
anyone demonstrating against the government. President Mutharika's
moral bankruptcy and failure of political leadership has been revealed
in his reaction to this tragic turn of events. In a brief, rumbling
address to the nation delivered on state controlled radio and
television, he failed to show any real understanding of the root
causes of the problems that have brought ordinary Malawian citizens to
the streets. Instead, all he could offer by way of explanation is the
bizarre claim that the demonstrators are enemies of the country who
have been instigated or are led by Satan. More tragically, in his
speech President Mutharika failed to do what any decent political
leader would do in such a situation: the basic act of offering
condolences to the families of the 18 individuals killed over the last
twenty-four hours. He simply failed to acknowledge or mention these
innocent deaths. Malawi, or indeed any other country, does not deserve
such leadership.
First Written July 21, 2011
Demo Post Mortem by Rajik Hajat, IPI
I am proud to report that Civil Society in Blantyre had no hand in the riots, looting and violence that ensued during our 'peaceful' demonstration.
It was provoked by Political parties who seized the opportunity to hijack our peaceful march and turn it into a battleground by misdirecting the crowd,
I also hold the following people responsible because:
a) Chiza Mbekeani who applied for the injunction to prevent us from demonstrating for reasons best known to himself;
b) The lawyer who applied for that injunction was later found to be unregistered in Malawi and thus not eligible to apply for injunctions; This should be investigated and punished!
c) The Judge (Kachale) who granted the ex parte injunction at night without checking into the salient facts and/or the eligibility of the applicants; This should be investigated and punished!
d) The Police - for setting up road blocks in various locations to deter people from coming for the demo thereby raising temperature from the start.
e) The Police - for preventing the pickup carrying our PA system from entering into town - thereby denying us the means with which to communicate with the crowd and exert control;
f) The Police - for keeping us bottled up on Victoria Ave for 5 hours in the hot sun without food or water, because of an alleged injunction which did not bear our names and was never served on us. As a result the initial good humour of the crowd soon turned ugly and uncontrollable;
g) The Political Parties - who tried to hijack the peaceful demonstration by whipping the crowd into a frenzy and misdirecting them into a confrontation with the Police that soon became a battleground; It was a disgusting spectacle and visibly demonstrated to me why our beloved country is suffering in this way. There will be no hope unless these parties cease to be 'personality driven' and change their modus operandi completely. Otherwise, we are well and truly doomed to another 50 years of the same treatment we've suffered for the last 47 years and our children will chant the same litany - hunger, disease, envy, and the inexorable dehumanization that has robbed us of our dignity.
Today I have been keeping track of the incidents taking place in Bt, and I can truthfully swear innocence for the despicable acts that have taken place. It appears that these 'thugs' have been incited by the DPP to destabilise Malawi into such a sens of insecurity that the President can declare a state of emergency and thus continue to rule with even more powers than he can presently wield. What a tragedy!
Which goes to show that the demonstration was not an end in itself, but rather the beginning of a long turbulent, tiresome, trek to regain the human dignity that has been lost by every Malawian!
--
Rafiq Hajat
IPI
It was provoked by Political parties who seized the opportunity to hijack our peaceful march and turn it into a battleground by misdirecting the crowd,
I also hold the following people responsible because:
a) Chiza Mbekeani who applied for the injunction to prevent us from demonstrating for reasons best known to himself;
b) The lawyer who applied for that injunction was later found to be unregistered in Malawi and thus not eligible to apply for injunctions; This should be investigated and punished!
c) The Judge (Kachale) who granted the ex parte injunction at night without checking into the salient facts and/or the eligibility of the applicants; This should be investigated and punished!
d) The Police - for setting up road blocks in various locations to deter people from coming for the demo thereby raising temperature from the start.
e) The Police - for preventing the pickup carrying our PA system from entering into town - thereby denying us the means with which to communicate with the crowd and exert control;
f) The Police - for keeping us bottled up on Victoria Ave for 5 hours in the hot sun without food or water, because of an alleged injunction which did not bear our names and was never served on us. As a result the initial good humour of the crowd soon turned ugly and uncontrollable;
g) The Political Parties - who tried to hijack the peaceful demonstration by whipping the crowd into a frenzy and misdirecting them into a confrontation with the Police that soon became a battleground; It was a disgusting spectacle and visibly demonstrated to me why our beloved country is suffering in this way. There will be no hope unless these parties cease to be 'personality driven' and change their modus operandi completely. Otherwise, we are well and truly doomed to another 50 years of the same treatment we've suffered for the last 47 years and our children will chant the same litany - hunger, disease, envy, and the inexorable dehumanization that has robbed us of our dignity.
Today I have been keeping track of the incidents taking place in Bt, and I can truthfully swear innocence for the despicable acts that have taken place. It appears that these 'thugs' have been incited by the DPP to destabilise Malawi into such a sens of insecurity that the President can declare a state of emergency and thus continue to rule with even more powers than he can presently wield. What a tragedy!
Which goes to show that the demonstration was not an end in itself, but rather the beginning of a long turbulent, tiresome, trek to regain the human dignity that has been lost by every Malawian!
--
Rafiq Hajat
IPI
Malawi: Arab Spring Spreading South of the Sahara?
Written by Steve Sharra
It's winter in Africa, south of the Equator, but the temperature in Malawi feels more like Spring - particularly that of the recent Arab pedigree. The Malawian air is rife with tension and anxiety over what is expected to be a clash between civil society and the Malawi government on Wednesday July 20, 2011.
Civil society activists have set that date as a day for the beginning of a series of mass demonstrations aimed at expressing their displeasure with the Malawian leadership.
Rife with tension
Malawi is currently undergoing a severe fuel shortage, which began at the beginning of June, one of a recurrent number of crippling shortages since 2009. The country has had severe foreign exchange (forex) shortages, at a time when it is supposed to have plenty of from tobacco sales, currently in season.
On Thursday, July 14, the British Government announced [2] it had stopped giving budgetary support to the Malawi government, citing concerns with the suppression of demonstrations, the intimidation of civil society organisations, and an injunctions bill that prevents citizens from obtaining court injunctions against the government.
The British Government also said Malawi’s currency, the Kwacha, was overvalued, resulting in chronic forex shortages “which are having a serious impact on the Malawian private sector’s ability to drive future growth. There are now daily fuel queues, tobacco exports have deteriorated and Malawi is off-track with its IMF programme.” The IMF has also suspended its support to the Malawi government.
The political landscape has been tense since December 2010 when the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expelled [3] the Right Honorable Joyce Banda, the country's vice president, for what is widely believed to be a ploy for President Bingu wa Mutharika to pave a political path for his brother, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika. The vice president has since formed her own party [4], although officially she remains in her government position.
President Bingu wa Mutharika has recently signed law bills that have been met with widespread criticism and resistance, including one empowering the Minister of Information to ban any publication [5] deemed not to be in the public interest. A more recent law makes it impossible for individuals to obtain a court injunction [6] and seek judicial redress against the government.
The University of Malawi [7] has had two of its constituent colleges, Chancellor College and The Polytechnic, shut down [8] since February 2011 when lecturers started refusing to enter classrooms for fear of spies. The saga started in February this year when the Inspector General of Police, Peter Mukhito, summoned a Chancellor College political science lecturer, Dr Blessings Chinsinga, to question him for mentioning the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt during a lecture.
The University of Malawi governing council is currently engaged in a court battle with the Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (CCASU), who are challenging the Council's firing of four Chancellor College lecturers, including Dr Chinsinga and Dr Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula, the union's acting president.
Fear of violent protests
There are fears that the July 20 mass demonstrations may turn violent. Supporters of President wa Mutharika and the DPP have announced a counter-demonstration on the same day. There are reports that 800 police officers are being specially trained to stop the demonstrations “with zero casualties” according to online newspaper Malawi Voice [9].
On Thursday July 14, the United States Embassy in Malawi issued an alert to US citizens in Malawi about about the demonstrations and the possibility that they could turn ugly. Titled “Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens – Possible Demonstrations”, the alert first appeared [10] on the discussion site Nyasanet on Friday, and later on the online newspaper Nyasatimes [11].
One member on the Nyasanet forum observed [12] that the mere fact that the US Embassy issued such a statement meant that there was something serious brewing underground:
The Statement from the US Embassy means that the Chief of Station (Head of the CIA in Malawi) has done his/her homework. They are rarely off target.
As the air grew tense with the countdown to Wednesday, there were reports on Sunday [13], which first surfaced on a Google forum, that a vehicle belonging to Zodiak Broadcasting Station [14], an independent radio station, had its windows smashed by men wearing face masks.
Much of the news of the demonstration has appeared online, whereas the government's response has used state media with government spokespersons holding press conferences on television and radio stations. A Facebook event page [15] has been created for the demonstrations with the title ‘DEMO YA TIYENI TONSE PA 20 JULY', roughly translating as a demonstration of one and all on 20 July. As of writing, 2,422 people have indicated they will attend the demonstration; the date on the event's page says 20 October instead of the July 20 event that everyone is talking about.
The Facebook page gives a detailed description of when and where people should assemble for the demonstrations, a programme that has appeared in other online newspapers [16] and in print newspapers. Comments on the page range from the biblical to the profane.
A Bible-quoting commenter writes [17]:
There4,let us follow aftar the things dat mek 4 peace & things by which 1 may edify another” Roman 14:19
One bordering on the profane goes [18]:
It's our right to demonstrate, that is the only way we can ring a bell in to an obstinate and gullible this stupid fool called ngwazi. Let us show him that Malawi does not belong to one tribe neither his family, gogogogogo! DEMO.
Another comment sounds rather militant [19]:
It Has to be done…Malawians Stand Up and Be Counted! No One Should Abuse Our Hard Fought For Freedom!
A more reflective commenter quotes [20] Nelson Mandela:
It always seems imposible until its done-Nelson mandela.
Interest in the impending mass action appears to be spreading outside Malawi. A Malawian landing at Kamuzu International Airport on Sunday posted on their Facebook page [21] about a group of foreign journalists aboard the same plane they were on:
Had a contingent of foreign media in the same flight this afternoon coming into Lilongwe, looks like the Demos have attracted the attention on the international media!” One passenger even asked a question the Malawian chose not to answer: “Some one asked me, is it true Malawians are changing regime on 20th July? I didnt give hima any answer.
But an observer of Malawian politics posted on Twitter about there not seeming to be a lot of international media attention on the looming demonstrations: “still nothing shows up in international news feeds on upcoming #Malawi demonstrations #20July”.
The Twitter hashtag for the demonstration is #20July [22], says @chiume [23].
Response from the top
President wa Mutharika appears to have been aware of the mood amongst many Malawians, and has been planning a response. On arrival from a trip to the United States towards the end of June, he announced that he was going to give a public lecture, in which he would address the many concerns Malawians are expressing.
No date was set for the public lecture, but immediately as the organizers of the July 20 demonstration announced their date, government announced the same date of July 20 for the public lecture. Government spokesperson Honorable Vuwa Kaunda, Minister of Information and Civic Education, and presidential spokesperson Dr Heatherwick Ntaba held a press conference, urging Malawians not to go to the demonstration, but to the president's lecture instead.
Among the many reasons the two cited as to why Malawians need to listen to the president, Hon. Vuwa Kaunda performed his trademark praise song to President wa Mutharika, listing the many achievements of the DPP-led government. Hon Kaunda has become known for rattling off, in rapid style, President wa Mutharika's achievements: an end to chronicle food shortages, new tarred roads across the length of the country, six new universities being planned for the next ten years, new parliament building, a new five star hotel and international conference center in the capital city Lilongwe, and Nsanje World Inland port connecting Malawi to the Indian Ocean, among others.
Up to until his re-election to a second term in May 2009, President Bingu wa Mutharika enjoyed broad support locally, and wide admiration abroad. Civil society activists held demonstrations in support of his policies against a majority opposition which was seen as only bent on frustrating his development plans. He introduced a farm input subsidy, which is credited for having turned Malawi from a food importer to a food exporter. He was Malawi's first president to become chairperson of the African Union for the year 2010, a development that added to his international credentials which earned him attention on the front pages of major newspapers in the United States [25], Britain [26] and elsewhere [27]. There was renewed hope and pride amongst many Malawians, and President wa Mutharika was seen as the new face of a new Africa.
Compared with the mood in the country today, a lot has changed in a space of two years. A Malawian development economist observed [28] on Nyasanet in May this year:
I was at the world economic forum last month. Only two years [ago] bingu was a hero. Now Malawi was a source of bewilderment.
In an attempt to dissuade Malawians from attending Wednesday's planned demonstrations, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation has carried news bulletins, on three consecutive evenings, claiming that Malawians are being duped about the demonstrations, whose real aim, the state broadcaster claims, is to show support for gay rights, for which civil society groups have received millions of kwacha. The bulletins have been saying organizers of the demonstrations want to use photographs of demonstrators to show to donors that Malawians support gay rights and same-sex marriages.
Reactions to the government's story have been derided as bordering on the desperate. One reaction posted on Twitter [29] said:
Malawians urged not to listen to MBC TV & Radio on 20 July - coz of its tendency to misinform in news coverage
Another tweet [30] sought to identify a possible irony in a television anchor's attire:
MBC TB news anchor, Nyang'wa in a red tie - maybe in some dress rehearsal for the July 20 demo (dress attire is red)
On February 14 earlier this year civil society organizations planned a demonstration to protest against fuel shortages, but it was stopped by police. According to online newspaper Malawi Voice, the demonstrators were hugely outnumbered by the police [31], who were over 250, against a few dozen protesters, numbering about 30, according to print newspaper The Nation [32].
The leader of that foiled demonstration, Mabvuto Bamusi, has since made a 180 degree turn. He is now frequently invited on national television to provide analysis and commentary that supports government and lambasts his former colleagues in civil society.
Article sourced from Global Voices: http://globalvoicesonline.org
URL to article: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/07/19/malawi-arab-spring-spreading-south-of-the-sahara/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169916843073956
[2] announced: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/Press-releases/2011/Government-to-suspend-general-budget-support-to-Malawi/
[3] expelled: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/21/malawi-citizens-take-on-vice-presidents-dismissal/
[4] her own party: http://www.nyasatimes.com/politics/malawi%E2%80%99s-vp-socialist-party-launches-in-march.html
[5] ban any publication: http://www.misa.org/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?category=2&id=1303122817
[6] court injunction: http://www.nationmw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22790:bingu-signs-injunctions-bill&catid=1:national-news&Itemid=3
[7] University of Malawi: http://www.unima.mw/
[8] shut down: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/04/14/a-blog-post-that-closed-the-university-of-malawi/
[9] Malawi Voice: http://www.malawivoice.com/latest-news/800-police-officers-undergoing-special-training-to-counter-20th-july-demonstrations-as-mdf-waits-in-wings/
[10] first appeared: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?A2=NYASANET;abb904c6.1107C
[11] Nyasatimes: http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/americans-warned-of-malawi-demo.html
[12] observed: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?A2=NYASANET;47f3ca3.1107C
[13] reports on Sunday: http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/zodiak-car-smashed-by-bingu-thugs.html
[14] Zodiak Broadcasting Station: http://zodiakmalawi.com/zbs%20malawi/
[15] Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=169916843073956
[16] online newspapers: http://www.malawidemocrat.com/national/programme-of-july-20-demonstrations/
[17] writes: https://www.facebook.com/penjani.gondwe/posts/172021052863535
[18] goes: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=172046599527647&id=100000106964805
[19] militant: https://www.facebook.com/Ngwizzy/posts/172039956194978
[20] quotes: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=171942982871342&id=100002368908313
[21] posted on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150234330889094&id=522839093
[22] #20July: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=+%2320July
[23] @chiume: https://twitter.com/#!/chiume/status/92695188207706113
[24] Image: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/07/19/malawi-arab-spring-spreading-south-of-the-sahara/malawi1-4/
[25] United States: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/africa/02malawi.html
[26] Britain: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/81059fb4-0e02-11dc-8219-000b5df10621.html
[27] elsewhere: http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol22no3/223-harvest-of-hope.html
[28] observed: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?A2=NYASANET;96c316cc.1105D
[29] posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Malawi2014/status/92645360350146560
[30] tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/Malawi2014/status/92658583682031616
[31] outnumbered by the police: http://www.malawivoice.com/latest-news/malawians-not-keen-on-fuel-protest-police-out-number-protesters/
[32] The Nation: http://www.nationmw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14460:malawi-police-foil-fuel-protest&catid=1:national-news&Itemid=3
It's winter in Africa, south of the Equator, but the temperature in Malawi feels more like Spring - particularly that of the recent Arab pedigree. The Malawian air is rife with tension and anxiety over what is expected to be a clash between civil society and the Malawi government on Wednesday July 20, 2011.
Civil society activists have set that date as a day for the beginning of a series of mass demonstrations aimed at expressing their displeasure with the Malawian leadership.
Rife with tension
Malawi is currently undergoing a severe fuel shortage, which began at the beginning of June, one of a recurrent number of crippling shortages since 2009. The country has had severe foreign exchange (forex) shortages, at a time when it is supposed to have plenty of from tobacco sales, currently in season.
On Thursday, July 14, the British Government announced [2] it had stopped giving budgetary support to the Malawi government, citing concerns with the suppression of demonstrations, the intimidation of civil society organisations, and an injunctions bill that prevents citizens from obtaining court injunctions against the government.
The British Government also said Malawi’s currency, the Kwacha, was overvalued, resulting in chronic forex shortages “which are having a serious impact on the Malawian private sector’s ability to drive future growth. There are now daily fuel queues, tobacco exports have deteriorated and Malawi is off-track with its IMF programme.” The IMF has also suspended its support to the Malawi government.
The political landscape has been tense since December 2010 when the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expelled [3] the Right Honorable Joyce Banda, the country's vice president, for what is widely believed to be a ploy for President Bingu wa Mutharika to pave a political path for his brother, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika. The vice president has since formed her own party [4], although officially she remains in her government position.
President Bingu wa Mutharika has recently signed law bills that have been met with widespread criticism and resistance, including one empowering the Minister of Information to ban any publication [5] deemed not to be in the public interest. A more recent law makes it impossible for individuals to obtain a court injunction [6] and seek judicial redress against the government.
The University of Malawi [7] has had two of its constituent colleges, Chancellor College and The Polytechnic, shut down [8] since February 2011 when lecturers started refusing to enter classrooms for fear of spies. The saga started in February this year when the Inspector General of Police, Peter Mukhito, summoned a Chancellor College political science lecturer, Dr Blessings Chinsinga, to question him for mentioning the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt during a lecture.
The University of Malawi governing council is currently engaged in a court battle with the Chancellor College Academic Staff Union (CCASU), who are challenging the Council's firing of four Chancellor College lecturers, including Dr Chinsinga and Dr Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula, the union's acting president.
Fear of violent protests
There are fears that the July 20 mass demonstrations may turn violent. Supporters of President wa Mutharika and the DPP have announced a counter-demonstration on the same day. There are reports that 800 police officers are being specially trained to stop the demonstrations “with zero casualties” according to online newspaper Malawi Voice [9].
On Thursday July 14, the United States Embassy in Malawi issued an alert to US citizens in Malawi about about the demonstrations and the possibility that they could turn ugly. Titled “Emergency Message for U.S. Citizens – Possible Demonstrations”, the alert first appeared [10] on the discussion site Nyasanet on Friday, and later on the online newspaper Nyasatimes [11].
One member on the Nyasanet forum observed [12] that the mere fact that the US Embassy issued such a statement meant that there was something serious brewing underground:
The Statement from the US Embassy means that the Chief of Station (Head of the CIA in Malawi) has done his/her homework. They are rarely off target.
As the air grew tense with the countdown to Wednesday, there were reports on Sunday [13], which first surfaced on a Google forum, that a vehicle belonging to Zodiak Broadcasting Station [14], an independent radio station, had its windows smashed by men wearing face masks.
Much of the news of the demonstration has appeared online, whereas the government's response has used state media with government spokespersons holding press conferences on television and radio stations. A Facebook event page [15] has been created for the demonstrations with the title ‘DEMO YA TIYENI TONSE PA 20 JULY', roughly translating as a demonstration of one and all on 20 July. As of writing, 2,422 people have indicated they will attend the demonstration; the date on the event's page says 20 October instead of the July 20 event that everyone is talking about.
The Facebook page gives a detailed description of when and where people should assemble for the demonstrations, a programme that has appeared in other online newspapers [16] and in print newspapers. Comments on the page range from the biblical to the profane.
A Bible-quoting commenter writes [17]:
There4,let us follow aftar the things dat mek 4 peace & things by which 1 may edify another” Roman 14:19
One bordering on the profane goes [18]:
It's our right to demonstrate, that is the only way we can ring a bell in to an obstinate and gullible this stupid fool called ngwazi. Let us show him that Malawi does not belong to one tribe neither his family, gogogogogo! DEMO.
Another comment sounds rather militant [19]:
It Has to be done…Malawians Stand Up and Be Counted! No One Should Abuse Our Hard Fought For Freedom!
A more reflective commenter quotes [20] Nelson Mandela:
It always seems imposible until its done-Nelson mandela.
Interest in the impending mass action appears to be spreading outside Malawi. A Malawian landing at Kamuzu International Airport on Sunday posted on their Facebook page [21] about a group of foreign journalists aboard the same plane they were on:
Had a contingent of foreign media in the same flight this afternoon coming into Lilongwe, looks like the Demos have attracted the attention on the international media!” One passenger even asked a question the Malawian chose not to answer: “Some one asked me, is it true Malawians are changing regime on 20th July? I didnt give hima any answer.
But an observer of Malawian politics posted on Twitter about there not seeming to be a lot of international media attention on the looming demonstrations: “still nothing shows up in international news feeds on upcoming #Malawi demonstrations #20July”.
The Twitter hashtag for the demonstration is #20July [22], says @chiume [23].
Response from the top
President wa Mutharika appears to have been aware of the mood amongst many Malawians, and has been planning a response. On arrival from a trip to the United States towards the end of June, he announced that he was going to give a public lecture, in which he would address the many concerns Malawians are expressing.
No date was set for the public lecture, but immediately as the organizers of the July 20 demonstration announced their date, government announced the same date of July 20 for the public lecture. Government spokesperson Honorable Vuwa Kaunda, Minister of Information and Civic Education, and presidential spokesperson Dr Heatherwick Ntaba held a press conference, urging Malawians not to go to the demonstration, but to the president's lecture instead.
Among the many reasons the two cited as to why Malawians need to listen to the president, Hon. Vuwa Kaunda performed his trademark praise song to President wa Mutharika, listing the many achievements of the DPP-led government. Hon Kaunda has become known for rattling off, in rapid style, President wa Mutharika's achievements: an end to chronicle food shortages, new tarred roads across the length of the country, six new universities being planned for the next ten years, new parliament building, a new five star hotel and international conference center in the capital city Lilongwe, and Nsanje World Inland port connecting Malawi to the Indian Ocean, among others.
Up to until his re-election to a second term in May 2009, President Bingu wa Mutharika enjoyed broad support locally, and wide admiration abroad. Civil society activists held demonstrations in support of his policies against a majority opposition which was seen as only bent on frustrating his development plans. He introduced a farm input subsidy, which is credited for having turned Malawi from a food importer to a food exporter. He was Malawi's first president to become chairperson of the African Union for the year 2010, a development that added to his international credentials which earned him attention on the front pages of major newspapers in the United States [25], Britain [26] and elsewhere [27]. There was renewed hope and pride amongst many Malawians, and President wa Mutharika was seen as the new face of a new Africa.
Compared with the mood in the country today, a lot has changed in a space of two years. A Malawian development economist observed [28] on Nyasanet in May this year:
I was at the world economic forum last month. Only two years [ago] bingu was a hero. Now Malawi was a source of bewilderment.
In an attempt to dissuade Malawians from attending Wednesday's planned demonstrations, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation has carried news bulletins, on three consecutive evenings, claiming that Malawians are being duped about the demonstrations, whose real aim, the state broadcaster claims, is to show support for gay rights, for which civil society groups have received millions of kwacha. The bulletins have been saying organizers of the demonstrations want to use photographs of demonstrators to show to donors that Malawians support gay rights and same-sex marriages.
Reactions to the government's story have been derided as bordering on the desperate. One reaction posted on Twitter [29] said:
Malawians urged not to listen to MBC TV & Radio on 20 July - coz of its tendency to misinform in news coverage
Another tweet [30] sought to identify a possible irony in a television anchor's attire:
MBC TB news anchor, Nyang'wa in a red tie - maybe in some dress rehearsal for the July 20 demo (dress attire is red)
On February 14 earlier this year civil society organizations planned a demonstration to protest against fuel shortages, but it was stopped by police. According to online newspaper Malawi Voice, the demonstrators were hugely outnumbered by the police [31], who were over 250, against a few dozen protesters, numbering about 30, according to print newspaper The Nation [32].
The leader of that foiled demonstration, Mabvuto Bamusi, has since made a 180 degree turn. He is now frequently invited on national television to provide analysis and commentary that supports government and lambasts his former colleagues in civil society.
Article sourced from Global Voices: http://globalvoicesonline.org
URL to article: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/07/19/malawi-arab-spring-spreading-south-of-the-sahara/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=169916843073956
[2] announced: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/Press-releases/2011/Government-to-suspend-general-budget-support-to-Malawi/
[3] expelled: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/21/malawi-citizens-take-on-vice-presidents-dismissal/
[4] her own party: http://www.nyasatimes.com/politics/malawi%E2%80%99s-vp-socialist-party-launches-in-march.html
[5] ban any publication: http://www.misa.org/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?category=2&id=1303122817
[6] court injunction: http://www.nationmw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22790:bingu-signs-injunctions-bill&catid=1:national-news&Itemid=3
[7] University of Malawi: http://www.unima.mw/
[8] shut down: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/04/14/a-blog-post-that-closed-the-university-of-malawi/
[9] Malawi Voice: http://www.malawivoice.com/latest-news/800-police-officers-undergoing-special-training-to-counter-20th-july-demonstrations-as-mdf-waits-in-wings/
[10] first appeared: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?A2=NYASANET;abb904c6.1107C
[11] Nyasatimes: http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/americans-warned-of-malawi-demo.html
[12] observed: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?A2=NYASANET;47f3ca3.1107C
[13] reports on Sunday: http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/zodiak-car-smashed-by-bingu-thugs.html
[14] Zodiak Broadcasting Station: http://zodiakmalawi.com/zbs%20malawi/
[15] Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=169916843073956
[16] online newspapers: http://www.malawidemocrat.com/national/programme-of-july-20-demonstrations/
[17] writes: https://www.facebook.com/penjani.gondwe/posts/172021052863535
[18] goes: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=172046599527647&id=100000106964805
[19] militant: https://www.facebook.com/Ngwizzy/posts/172039956194978
[20] quotes: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=171942982871342&id=100002368908313
[21] posted on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150234330889094&id=522839093
[22] #20July: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=+%2320July
[23] @chiume: https://twitter.com/#!/chiume/status/92695188207706113
[24] Image: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/07/19/malawi-arab-spring-spreading-south-of-the-sahara/malawi1-4/
[25] United States: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/africa/02malawi.html
[26] Britain: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/81059fb4-0e02-11dc-8219-000b5df10621.html
[27] elsewhere: http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol22no3/223-harvest-of-hope.html
[28] observed: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?A2=NYASANET;96c316cc.1105D
[29] posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Malawi2014/status/92645360350146560
[30] tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/Malawi2014/status/92658583682031616
[31] outnumbered by the police: http://www.malawivoice.com/latest-news/malawians-not-keen-on-fuel-protest-police-out-number-protesters/
[32] The Nation: http://www.nationmw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14460:malawi-police-foil-fuel-protest&catid=1:national-news&Itemid=3
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