Elson Bakili Muluzi ( born March 17, 1943, Machinga, Nyasaland) might end up being one of Malawi’s cunningest Politicians. He was the President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004 and was Chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Malawi’s president. He also served in Kamuzu Banda’s cabinet as Minister without Portfolio, before retiring in 1980.
Muluzi was the candidate of the opposition UDF in the May 1994 presidential election, the country’s first multiparty election. He won the election with 47% of the vote, defeating Malawi’s leader since independence, Hastings Kamuzu Banda. There is no provision for a runoff election in Malawi, so this was enough for him to end Banda’s 33-year rule (dating back to when Malawi was still a British colony).
He was re-elected in June 1999, taking 52.4% of the vote and defeating challenger Gwanda Chakuamba who was the leader of the opposition movement.
In 2002 he proposed an amendment to Malawi’s constitution that would have allowed him to run for a third term, but this was abandoned due to the move being blocked by the National Assembly of Malawi Members of Parliament, courts, and demonstrations against him. After serving two terms, he therefore handed over power to his successor after the May 2004 election, in which UDF candidate Bingu wa Mutharika (who was handpicked and groomed by Muluzi) was elected to succeed Muluzi as President.
Muluzi came to lead the UDF after leaving the Banda government, and he became an advocate for democracy. What many young people in Malawi do not appreciate is how dangerous challenging Kamzuzu Banda was.
Aaron Gadamma died mysteriously in 1983 together with Ministers Dick Matenje, and Twaibu Sangala as well as Member of parliament, David Chiwanga. Their bodies were found in Mozambique. The Banda government reported his death as a ‘traffic accident. In 1995, seven people were accused of his death including Kamuzu Banda, but were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
This was the Government Bakili Muluzi dared to challenge. Not only did he challenge them but he was succesful becoming the first democratically elected President of Malawi.
Muluzi’s time as President was marred by controversy and scandal, particularly due to the sale of Malawi’s reserves of maize to other countries shortly before the onset of a drought, which resulted in famine throughout the country. Despite international pressure, the millions of dollars realized from the sale of Malawi’s food reserves have never been turned over, and it is widely suspected that it wound up in foreign accounts belonging to Muluzi and his supporters.
On July 27, 2006, Muluzi was arrested on fraud and corruption charges; he was released on bail later that day. Hours after his arrest, the chief investigator Gustav Kaliwo was suspended by President Mutharika and Director of Public Prosecutions Ishmael Wadi said he had no choice but to drop the charges.
Dr. Bakili Muluzi was once more arrested on 26 February 2009 and initially charged with 86 counts of corruption and abuse of office. He was being accused of allegedly diverting 1.7 billion Malawi Kwacha (US$11m) of donor money into his personal account. The said money, among others, came from the Republic of China, the Kingdom of Morocco and Libya.
As a former Commonwealth leader, Muluzi was invited by the Commonwealth Secretary-General to Chair the Commonwealth Observer Group which observed the 2012 General Election in Lesotho.
On March 20, 2009 the Malawi Electoral Commission passed a judgement to bar Bakili Muluzi from running for the presidency for the third time. Muluzi challenged this, but on May 16, only three days before the election, the Constitutional Court ruled that Muluzi could not run again. By that point, Muluzi and the UDF had thrown their support behind the candidacy of John Tembo, the President of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP)
The Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Alex Nampota, announced on March 17, 2008 that the ACB intended to prosecute Muluzi for allegedly diverting about 11 million dollars of donor money into his personal account; Nampota said that the ACB had asked the courts to lift an injunction that prevented it from questioning Muluzi. Kennedy Makwangwala, the Secretary-General of the UDF, denounced this as “political persecution”
On 10 July 2014, Muluzi was appointed as Special Commonwealth Envoy to Swaziland, an appointment endorsed by the current President of Malawi, Peter Mutharika.
The Fences between Peter Mutharika and Bakili Muluzi appear to be mending, He was sent to Zambia to represent Malawi at Sata’s funeral instead of Vice President Saulos Chilima is as the normal custom. He has been seen in public meetings with President Mutharika and in some cases been given more deference that opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera.
Bakili Muluzi is the only Person who can claim to have served through all Malawi governments. He even had a friendly relationship with Joyce Banda after defending her when the six were plotting to take over the government after the death of Bingu WA Mutharika. He has Managed to get his son to serve as Minister in both the Joyce Banda and Peter Mutharika’s governments.
His graft case is all but buried and might never see the light of day again. Acheya is a survivor
Source:Wikipedia