PREAMBLE
This article is an analysis of DPPs March 11, 2015 Liberation Day which has attracted various views from the general public, mostly negative.
The idea is to review the function, and suggest how best it could have been implemented in order to safeguard to the image of government, and serve the interests of Malawians.
It is our hope, that DPP leadership and members will consider this criticism positively, and appreciate that we are not what others call “Monday Coaches” but ever loyal members of DPP that seek to criticize and offer tangible options.
We are driven by the same immense love for DPP and our government, that kept us fighting, even in the toughest of times, when DPP sympathizers were few, and foes outnumbered us, after the death of President Bingu Wa Mutharika, until May 20 2014, when we got back into government.
And we seek to ensure that DPP survives and progresses in the manner that minimises public ridicule and disapproval, and reduce media attacks.
INTRODUCTION
On Wednesday March 11, 2015 President Mutharika led the DPP into a ceremonious commemoration of the 2nd anniversary of his arrest which occurred under the Joyce Banda and PP administration.
The Party declared the day, a Liberation Day. Mutharika was arrested and charged with treason, in the company of some 11 former DPP Cabinet Ministers and senior Government officials.
In commemoration, together with Government and Party officials that were arrested with him, and members of the DPP, the President went to Lumbadzi Police Station where he signed his name on the wall of the cell where he was detained for 3days.
He also participated in the painting of cells and offices at the Station. The President also visited Maula Prison, where he cheered inmates, and donated a few items and finally went to Mtunthama ground where he awarded heroic medals to DPP Cabinet Members and Party Officials that were arrested with him or played various significant roles during the arrest.
The function was given full coverage by the state owned MBCTV.
THE RELEVANCE OF THE FUNCTION
As loyal members of DPP our memories are fresh of the gloom and desperation we experienced that day when our leaders got arrested. The pain stabbed us deeper because we understood that they were arrested for political purposes. But was the commemoration function of this day relevant under the circumstances?
The relevance of the function is of paramount importance bearing in mind that Presidential functions – whether Party or Government functions – involve other details, logistics and tasks that involve the use public resources and assets.
For instance, The President needs Security whether its Government or Party function, and the Malawi Constitution states that Presidential functions – whether Party or Government functions – are supposed to be broadcasted live on the state owned broadcaster, MBCTV.
Now, the Security Personnel receive allowances from tax-payers money, and MBCTV runs on tax-payers money too; this means that the March 11 DPP Liberation Day, had to be relevant enough, not only to DPP but the entire Malawi Nation, because in one way or another, state resources and assets were used. So was the function relevant? YES and NO.
YES! The function was relevant because it had a relevant Key Message which was anti- political arrests.
We agree with the President that in a Democracy no one should at any time be prosecuted on political grounds and that Prisons must be places of rehabilitation not detention centres for political opponents.
However, NO! The function was in the final analysis not relevant at all because even the relevance of the message, was marred by ill-timing and poor execution. The function was ill-timed because Malawi is bleeding with an ailing economy without even the cushioning of donor aid, and we have displaced and hungry flood victims.
This is not the time for the ruling DPP and government to hold functions that might be deemed extravagant. The function was also poorly executed because it was highly politicised by the painting of the Police cell in blue which is DPP color, and then going to Mtunthama ground where a mammoth gathering of DPP supporters in the party color awaited him, and gave medals to already privileged high profile politicians in the Party.
WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER
Like we said in the preamble, that we do not intend to merely criticize, but point towards better decisions that do not damage the image of DPP, we believe that there are two options which DPP and Government should have pursued for the commemoration day.
OPTION ONE:
DPP could have made the Liberation Day a government function and taken a few more victims of political arrests outside DPP. For instance, Government could have picked people like Vera Chirwa, who was the first female lawyer in Nyasaland and a founding member of the MCP and the Nyasaland African Women’s League, who fought for multiparty democracy soon after independence in the 60s but was charged with treason and sentence to death by Dr Banda’s dictatorship. Vera Chirwa was a political prisoner for 12 years waiting to be killed.
Government could have considered the former Vice President of Malawi from 2004 to 2009, Cassim Chilumpha and take this opportunity of a liberation day to take off his dragging treason case, and even declare reforms to the treason laws.
And government could have invited officials from other political Parties, and take this opportunity to give medals to victims of years of political arrests, detentions and imprisonment under the old MCP regime and make them Heroes not only the President and DPP officials.
OPTION TWO:
DPP could have made this a Party function without blowing it out of proportion and exclude the prison gesture. The Party should have requested party sympathisers to contribute to a simple DPP Conference probably at BICC.
At the function, the Party would have shared with its now mostly disgruntled members what the Party has achieved so far, and what it seeks to achieve probably through the first term.
The party could also have used this opportunity to improve on intra-Party relations that are not as strong as they used to be before elections; and share with Party members changes happening in the Party and reasons for the changes.
And then the medals would have been given to real achievers in DPP from the grass root – from low class villages and communities – who worked hard and steadied the grass root structures during the period of the death of Bingu wa Mutharika to the May 2014 Elections.
CONCLUSION
It is important that DPP as a Party understands that it was voted into power to govern Malawi not a section of people or interests of certain people.
The Party made a promise to build the Nation with the spirit of inclusiveness and reconciliation. According to the DPP’s February 2014 Manifesto, DPP pledged to “provide sound political and economic leadership and work with all Malawians, including those in the opposition, in a spirit of political tolerance, understanding and reconciliation, thereby consolidating peace, harmony, security and stability as the basis for prosperity of our country.”
The Liberation Day function has left a dent on our credibility. It is an opportunity missed.
DPP would have brought Malawians from across political parties and all walks of life, into a single voice of liberation from political persecution, and give Malawians nationally accepted heroes of Political arrests including Mutharika himself. or DPP could have used this opportunity to put its house in order, through an inclusive in-house commemoration, and engage widely and share necessary information with its members.
We believe the lessons have been learned.
