MALAWI PARLIAMENT A DISASTOR STORY: YES GOVERNMENT HAS TO CONTINUE SPENDING.

By: Peter Qeko Jere

The news that government will continue spending until 2009 has been warmly welcomed by the entire peace loving and patriotic Malawians apart from the few paranoid and directionless individuals who seem not to be true sons of this great nation. It is pleasing to note that though some ill minded individuals sit down strategizing and planning bad things on how to make life miserable for the innocent poor Malawians, government has resolved to continue spending. This is a positive step and a sign of maturity and love for the poor. This is also a sign of showing that there comes a time in life when critical decision to save lives has to be taken against all odds. The opposition are currently advocating for section 65 because they have lost direction. They are playing politics with their eyes closed and don’t just know where they are going at the moment. This is because noone is his sober mind can put section 65 above the national budget. Minds that advocate for section 65 than the budget this time around should be suffering from a certain unknown infection and sickness or something. I think research need to be done as to why people can think abnormally like this. This is abnormal thinking because even someone with mental disorder knows that the budget is money and food for the nation. The fact that some MPs and their leaders are advocating for section 65 means that something is terribly wrong in their way of thinking that they (though mature) can even not put priorities right for the nation. We are happy however that when opposition parliamentarians can not put priorities right for the nation, government is able to step in and do the right thing for the sake of the poor.

As MPs mainly from MCP (UDF team B) and UDF continues to play games with the budget, it is proper for government to be responsible because it not accountable to the MPs but the people of Malawi. Infact section 30 (2) and (4) of our constitution empowers government to do everything under its power to continue spending for as long as issues of developments are undermined by parliament.

Section 30 (2) of the constitution states; “The state shall take all necessary measures for the realization of the right to development”
Also section 30 (4) reads; “The State has a responsibility to respect the right to development and to justify its policies in accordance with this responsibility”

When it comes to development which is basically the budget, government does not necessarily need to bow down to the demand of parliament but use parliament as a formality and not a requirement because this section of the constitution empowers it to spend money on issues of development. Development does not come from opposition and that is why they don’t want the budget passed. Opposition in Malawi are not development oriented hence to them section 65 becomes a priority.

The one problem with MPs in Malawi today is that they think that their party boss demands and agendas represents the needs of the people which by and large is not the case at all in this 21st century Malawi because the Malawi of today is different. The Malawi of today is so much different and has its own way of doing things. Malawians main need is food and development which is in the budget and not section 65 as advocated by UDF and MCP. Malawians know that the budget is about food and fertilizer, medicine and other developments projects while at the same time the people in the villages have no idea of what section 65 is all about and how beneficial this is to their every day lives.

Now the UDF and MCP leaders and their lieutenants’ action refusing to pass the budget mean that they have abandoned and slapped the poor on their face, the very people who voted for them.

Both UDF and MCP leadership continue to advocate the implementation of section 65 because to they don’t have the intellectual capacity to comprehend and grasp the very definition of what poverty means to majority Malawians. MCP and UDF leaders are rich people and don’t go hungry and stay in nice houses hence the definition of poverty doesn’t exist to them at all. To them everything is about self enrichment. Due to this, the budget language and need for it to be passed is not a priority to them. Now such people who care less about the budget and welfare of the poor are dangerous and should not be given any space in the political life of the country. Such leaders who only dream of how much they will corruptly take out of the poors tax payers money are horrible leaders. Section 65 is for few MCP and UDF gurus for their own selfish end and not Malawians in general.

As the war of the budget continues in Malawi, UDF and MCP should be ready for a heavy showdown next year because this is the second time that they are have acted in this very strange babish way and are playing games with the lives of the poor in the villages whose only hope is the budget. Those who ignore to pass the budget should know that the poor next year shall fight back through the power of the pen (vote) and not the gun.

Now as regard this whole madness in parliament, there are few things that we need to point out.

Firstly is that in the house of parliament MPs represents the views of the constituency and in this case, there is enough evidence to show and support that these MPs stopped representing the poor in their villages and they are today representing the view , desires and aspirations of John Tembo and Bakili Muluzi. To show and demonstrate that these MPs get to parliament to represent their people and constituency, they are not called by their names (Mr. Banda or Mbewe) but Honorable member for Chiradzulu north or Mzimba central. These members need to know and understand why their names die natural death when they get into the August House. They need to know that in parliament they don’t have the right to think or speak political games but the needs and desires of their poor people.

Secondly is that since an MP is someone who is called to represent the constituency in the August house, we can as well argue that it is a waste of time for government to continue deliberating with MPs (mainly UDF and MCP) because these are not MP at all but group of confused misguided people who represent the views and aspiration of their party leaders. They are the yes!! bwanas because for a long time now UDF and MCP parliamentarians have proved that they don’t have brains to independently and seriously think about the needs of their people in their various constituencies. This is because they many times are bulldozed into doing some things that by the end of the day do not benefit their constituencies but their leaders. It is politically dangerous for a politician to be bulldozed into something not beneficial to the people who elected him into office. Thus we argue that UDF and MCP parliamentarians have lost political direction and do not know what they are doing politically and the outcome of it at the end. Parliamentarians need to realize that today’s politics involve too much using of brains and they have to think like men and women fit to be in the August house. We believe that the August house is suppose to be a place where people should demonstrate that they have brains and can think and not sink.

Thirdly is that opposition MPs should know that their leaders (Tembo and Muluzi) are not very democratic. Yea they go up and down advocating that they know and understand democracy but they don’t walk the talk. True democrats walk the talk. There is enough evidence to show and support that the MCP and UDF leadership have demonstrated that there are not able and capable of walking the democratic talk in Malawi. This is because both of them continue to mistake themselves that they are the only capable people to lead their parties. To them its like there are the only hero figures and warlords (Czar) of these parties. For instance, why should Bakili Muluzi think of coming back into active politics if the party had some potential individuals to lead it? We need to realize that to be a democrat is to give space to others so that them too can develop their leadership potentials. Just like the previous UDF team gave him space to develop and demonstrate his leadership skills Muluzi would have done likewise by giving space to others so that them too can come in and lead the party. Thus Muluzi’s behaviour and action of getting back into politics is undemocratic and shows that he does not respect and recognizes the fact that Malawi has many capable men and women who if given chance could rule the country even better than. As for MCP, we all know how undemocratic things are in there because this is a confused house. MCP MPs in essence don’t have opportunity to think and handle parliamentary things independently. They only make decision based on what John Tembo advises them. This is because the MCP leadership just like the UDF counterpart have taken their parties as personal properties hence their MPs are like working tenants who have no rights to even think and act independently. Its like a taboo to think independently in these parties and anyone doing this is castigated and marked as a rebel.

These leaders are very undemocratic because they continue to bulldoze the thinking process of their parliamentarians by forcing them not to support and pass the budget. The most surprising thing is that even those MPs who went through the University doors and are well informed, have become more useless and brainless human beings because their brains have paralyzed and they cant think independently any more. They have become worse than someone who never saw or went through university. We normally expect university education to help people properly develop independent thinking and able to make serious decision. But its frightening that university education for some has made them more useless in their constituencies their thought process has been damaged, paralyzed and are bulldozed by the power of money.

Having said this, MPs should wake up and come to their senses and get back the power of independent thinking so that they can more effective. MPs should realize that John Tembo and Muluzi are too weak to overpower the political dynamism in their constituencies. What MPs need to do is to create a strong bond with their constituency because that is where their power is. Too much bonding with the leadership will not help them when the time of judgement comes next year.

DR. CHAKUFWA TOM CHIHANA: THE CHAMPION, FATHER AND FOUNDER OF MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY IN MALAWI

BY: Peter Qeko Jere

I am so much blessed to have witnessed some of the major political events in Malawi unfolding before my very eyes. I was born and grew up during the reign of Dr. Banda and have very vivid memory of what it was like during the time when Dr. Banda was at the driving seat of Malawi. I remember what it was like when Dr. Banda comes into your district for the yearly crops inspection tour. Still remember how it was like when the youth league guys could terrorize you if you have forgotten your MCP card. Yes those were days when rules were strictly followed. I am also privileged that I witnessed the very end of Dr. Banda’s rule in Malawi and participated in a number of demonstration mainly in 1992-94 when Malawi was set on fire with the coming in and arrest of Chakufwa Chihana on the 6th of April 1992.

By 1992, I was old enough and able to follow every little political detail taking place in Malawi. I also heard from BBC and Channel Africa on the 5th April 1992 that a man called Chakufwa Chihana was coming to challenge Dr. Banda. This man Chihana told the world that he was coming to Malawi and that if Banda happens to kill him, his blood would be fuel for freedom and democracy. I was staying in Lilongwe when chakufwa chihana was landing at Kamuzu International Airport and when the entire nation was on fire for change. The only name that people talked about was of this man chahana or Chakufwa. No man could understand his when he said that he was coming back home to lead the fight for democratic change. I should therefore share with you in detail the four famous questions and answers that Chihana gave when the BBC were interviewing him on the 5th of April before he flew to Malawi. I want to discuss Chihana’s mind and his determination in relation to his love for his country, the kind of love that no human mind can begin to comprehend.

The BBC focus on Africa on the 5th of April on Malawi had this headline, “Malawi dissident going home tomorrow”. By the way this was after the Bishops had already released their famous pastoral letter and the political atmosphere in Malawi was just so hot for change. Now every household listerned to this news that someone called Chakufwa Chihana was landing at KIA to challenge Dr. Banda. Some believed that he was coming to liberate the nation from the long decades of oppression. Others were hesitant and thought that he was making a mistake because there was record of the Shire river crocodiles. The first question they asked him was, …


BBC…………. “Do you know that there is a warrant of arrest against you?
Chihana response…. “ Yes but it would be an error for them to arrest me; a crime against democracy”.

Now let me explain what chihana was talking about here when he was responding to this question. In the first place Chakufwa Chihana knew that it was possible that Banda could arrest him. He was aware that there was a wicked tradition in the MCP where people disappeared and some myseriously killed. He was aware of the huge task of sacrificing his very life for the birth of democracy in the country. Yes Catholic Bishops paved the way with their pastoral letter but there was a need for someone to come out and openly challenge Banda, someone who could lead and be at the frontline battle field. There was no-one in the entire land of Malawi. I mean we never heard of anybody planning to openly challenge Banda. What I mean is this: that no name was mentioned in Malawi apart from that of Chakufwa Chihana. People like Bakili Muluzi, Mpinganjira, Kamlepo and all these politicians we see today in Malawi were no where to be seen and were all in hiding because they were afraid of Banda and MCP young pioneers. In case you didn’t hear me right let me repeat this:

From Chitipa to Nsanje, Nkhotakota to Mchinji, all men were in hiding and were so much afraid to openly speak against Dr. Banda but only Chakufwa Chihana on the 5th of April on the BBC focus on Africa declared to the world that he was on his way to come and face Banda headon.

Thus Chakufwa came on the 6th of April 1992 and the entire country was on fire for change. Now in his response, Chihana said that Dr. Banda would be making an huge error to arrest him because they will not be arresting him as such but would be committing a crime against democracy.

What was he talking about when he meant that his arrest was a crime against democracy. Chakufwa was a confident learned man who knew that he was representing change or democracy. He was infact a symbol of hope and democracy for Malawi. He saw that all Malawians were not courageous enough to face the arm of Banda’s treason law and decided to come back home to face Banda. Chihana was not facing Banda alone but John Tembo and the entire MCP cabinet. There was nobody in Malawi who shocked Banda more than Chakufwa Chihana when he openly declared that he was coming home. So chihana came and was arrested right at the airport and the entire city of Lilongwe was on fire for change. I was right in town this day and I remember what I saw and how crazy everybody was and willing to see this man who turned the political tables in Malawi upside down.

Having said this, it is terribly wrong to say that there are some other people who championed democracy in Malawi. The truth of the matter ( from the evidence some of us who participated in the 1992 wind of change when Chihana was arriving at KIA) is that there is only one man in Malawi who sacrificed his blood and life for the birth of democracy and that man is Chakufwa Tom Chihana. This is the man whom we know who on the 6th April 1992 arrived at KIA and his arrest set the entire country on first for change. What I mean is that we need to avoid changing the truth.

We hear some saying that it was Bakili Muluzi who is championed democratic change in Malawi and we tend to wonder as to which Malawi is this because some of us saw and took part in that demonstration when all these leaders were in hiding. Ladies and Gentlement! I want to make history right here and listen to me: All Muluzi, Kamlepo, Mpinganjira and others were not there when hell broke loose in town due to the arrest of Tom Chihana. It is true that Muluzi because the first president of Malawi in a multiparty democracy but that does not mean that he is the father of multiparty democracy in Malawi. Its different to champion democracy and to become the first president in a multiparty democracy. What Bakili muluzi did was to win the first general election something which is a fact but he was not man enough to face Banda headon after the bishop letter was released in 1992. What I mean is that all Malawians were not man enough that time to face Banda but it took the brains of a man by the name of Tom chakufwa Chihana to come to the open and call a spade a spade and he is the man who championed democracy and the Father of Multiparty democracy in Malawi.

BBC ……“ why do you come now? Why not to stay outside?
Chihana response….. “ I know the situation in Malawi and no influence can be exercised from outside.

Chihana’s response here pictures a man who loves his country, a man who knew what he was doing. He says that he knew the situation in Malawi. A leader is the one who has the welfare of people at heart and not take advantage of their poverty and ignorance to manipulate them. Chihana’s main reason for coming to Malawi was to participate in the change and in the movement for change from inside. He is right to say that no influence can be exercised from outside. Real change comes when you stay inside and participate in the struggle for change. You don’t speak from outside and call yourself a democrat. You also don’t speak from your bedroom in fear and if change has to come, you need to get involved and be part of that change and this is the change that you can believe in. What Malawians needed in 1992 was the kind of change that they could believe in and where someone could lead them. They needed a leader for change and this man was no any other than Chakufwa Tom Chihana. Many Malawians were speaking from outside even oversea as a way of fighting for change but this never helped anything and didn’t bring any meaningful change. Some were right in Malawi and couldn’t speak out for change. So it is wrong for people to claim to have engineered change and democracy in Malawi while in fact there were busy hiding and others were outside the country. We need to remind ourselves what Chihana said that “no influence can be exercised from outside”. In other word, being a democrat means to participate in the change from within and not from outside as is that case with many who claim to have participated in the change in Malawi while actually they came in so much late when all was already done.

The third question was ‘ Do you know that Banda has said recently that dissenters who try to come intothe county will be meat for the crocodiles?
Chihana Response. “I am surprised to hear that; isn’t he a Christian? I am not really afraid; it is time for Banda to recognize the movement for democracy in the whole world.

There are a couple of things that I need to point out here as regard what chihana was saying here. Mind you he was speaking when he only had few hours remaining before he jets at KIA in Malawi. He already had the air ticket confirmed with him that in few hours time he was gonna be in Malawi facing Banda headon. Though he was saying that he was surprised to hear that he could end up as meat for crocodile, chihana was infact so much aware that it was true about the shire river crocodiles and that these wicked act of terror were happening despite the fact that Banda was a Christian. He was afraid hence he said here, ‘ I am not really afraid” meaning that there were elements of fear in him mainly when he sees death ahead of him. Chihana saw and smell death coming his way even when he was in the plane. We should not forget that we are talking of a human being with feelings and someone who is a husband and father. He was like sheep to be slaughtered and he gave himself up for the sake of democracy in Malawi. He was in fear because he could imagine himself being tortured and going through pain. Despite this, Chihana put himself together and landed at KIA from where he was arrested something which set the entire country on fire. Chihana is also saying here that its time that Banda should recognize democracy in the world. Infact Banda was not the problem because he was civilized. The problem was those who ministered around him. These are the people who fed him with cheap propaganda against fellow citizens to protect their empires. They did everything possible that Banda should not give up for the sake of their safety. Their safety was in Banda’s continueal rule. This is the same trend that even Bakili Muluzi has people who have surrounded him and their main job is to feed him with false information for their own political survival. So just as there were people who messed up Banda there are people who are busy messing up Muluzi because he is their own source of political survival.

BBC….Why wait for Banda to die?
Chihana response………… ‘no body has an agenda for the death of Banda. Malawi has been too long already under the oppression of this man; it would be immoral to let things continue like this any longer. If I am to die for the country, I am ready. My blood will feed the movement for democracy”.


Here the question was why could Chihana not wait a little bit until Band?. In other words the reporter was asking if Chihana could cancels his coming to lead his people and liberate them from the Banda oppression. Also the question was testing Chihana’s willingness and determination if he was man enough and to face Banda head-on and face the consequences. To wait for Banda’s death was something else for the activist because he was ready and infact the reporter was wasting his time as the man was on the move.

If you check Chihana’s reponse here, you will see that he says that noone has an agenda for Banda’s death. This was true because if Chihana waited that meant waiting up to 1997 because this was the year when he died. In other words there were five more years for Banda to live from 1992 and I cant imagine what could have happened to Malawians waiting for five more years from 1992 for Banda to die. Noone has an agenda for anybody’s death because death is what heavens decides on humanity and we all have no idea as to when this one or that one will die. Only God knows. So chihana saw that Malawians had waited for their kairos moment for too long and the hour had come for them to be set free. The moment of truth had come that they cross to the other side of the Jordan River and get into the promised land. Their Moses (Chihana) was on the way coming to lead them. From every situation of social political and economic oppression God raises a Moses. During the colonial oppression in Malawi, in 1958 there was a Moses whom God sent to liberate Nyasaland in the name of Dr. Banda. After three decades of Banda’s tyrannical rule, God raised a Moses in the name of Chakufwa Chihana who came in a time when all men in Malawi were in hiding, in deep fear of the Shire’s crocodile. Ofcourse due to tribalism advocated by other player who joined the liberation forces, Chihana never became the first Mulitparty president in Malawi something which we shall discuss in detail in the other article. Also we should not forget that after trying every kind of formula to change the constitution to have the third term, Malawians found themselves in a more worse situation than that of Banda and for some of us who grew up during Banda’s era could easiy differentiate and saw that Banda’s era was far more good than Muluzi. During Banda’s time, we had food all year through and noone could victimise anybody because of tight security. Also during the reign of this old man, things like selling private parts and killings never existed.

But during Muluzi time, Malawians went into this deep undescribable and uncomprehendable ultra poverty that has no proper definition. Things went bad and noone would love to be called a Malawian at all. Malawians down their hearts cried to God and they wept more when they heard that Muluzi was planning to change the constitution so that he probably become the life president of the country. In that situation, God provided a Moses in the name of His Excellency the president Dr. Bingu Wamthalika. Ironically God used the same Muluzi to choose Bingu because that was the best things that Muluzi could have done then. Now in the Bingu rule, Malawians can breathe again and become human beings again. They can begin to identity with their country again and not be ashamed at all as was the case 1994 to 2004. Food has come back in people’s homes again and there is nothing like the wicked starter pack from hell which made Malawians more poor than never before.

The point I am trying to bring home is that God raises a Moses in every situation of oppression because of His image that human carries with them. He does that to protect his image and that is why He get directly involved when the poor are oppressed and discriminated against. In other words, God is the God of the poor and he favours them so much to the point that he directly get involved in their suffering.

Back to Chihanas argument, he said that it would be immoral to let things continue like that in Malawi. What a remark and what a concern!!!. As far as Chihana was concern, something needed to be done in Malawi and it would have been immoral to let oppression continue. This pro-democracy campaigner and a human rights activist was concern that oppression of the poor in Malawi needed to be sorted out with immediate effect and the solution was to turn Malawi into a political battle zone, to fight from inside and not from outside as some did. He was directly involved inside the country to help bring about sanity in political activism. The chihana model is good and proper some people to emulate and imitate from in terms of political activism, that if you want to see true change in a situation, you need to leave your comfort zone and get into the battle field and fight the war. That you can’t expect change by hiding in your bedroom or in your house drinking coffee. Of course there are other politicians who due to poverty and illiteracy, take advantage of the people by doing campaigns in the informal settlements or squatter areas when the political winds is negatively blowing against them. Of course in Malawi many do this that when elections approaches, they would go to Ndirande, Mgona, Chinsapo, Mzilawaingwe and others to just cheat on the poor. We are not talking of people like these because such politicians are not fit to be in the game. True politicians are those who don’t take advantage of people’s poverty and illiteracy. Its infact wickedness and too sinful to take advantage of the poor. So Chihana never took advantage but made sure to get involved in the liberation struggle in the country. That is why the name Chihana is registered in Malawians memories from Chitipa to Nsanje and from Nkhotakota to Mchinji mainly because he did something that Malawians couldn’t when things were hard and difficult.

Now what do we say about this statement that his blood if he happen to be killed was gonna feed the movement for democracy in Malawi. What was Chihana trying to communicate here? In his mind, Chihana saw a new Malawi where democracy and the rule of law would be the supreme pillar of the country. He saw a new Malawi where noone would live in oppression though we latter say that things changed when the notorious and wicked UDF Young democrat could terrorize Malawians. They moved up and down terrorizing anyone with different view and were like demon in hell released and set free to devour. Actually Chihana never was killed but was arrested and kept in jail to deny him an opportunity to lead the democracy movement. Though he was arrested, his impact in the democratic change was huge because Malawi finally became a democratic state in 1994.