14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14
Recent events in Malawi heavily highlight the hugely low opinions Malawians have on themselves, their country and its leaders, and other Malawians.
For many years Malawians have developed the willingness to allow non-Malawians to permeate into our news atmosphere and direct the narrative of our country, demeaning the country and its leaders; and we are all in a class of nincompoops, thus declared by non-Malawians.
There are three immediate ways in which this trajectory may be corrected. The first is for the country to make the Sattar story go away for ALL. The second is a call to all security entities in the country to stop the harassment or intimidation of any journalist (in or outside the country). Lastly, the politicization of constitutional institutions must stop.
My heart desires that all Malawians talk positively and enthusiastically about this land called Malawi. This is national pride. Pride stretches from Chitipa to Nsanje, Mchinji to Nkhota-kota.
As a proud and patriotic Malawian, these are my three prayer requests in 2024 for my beautiful Malawi:
1. Make the Zuneth Sattar saga GO AWAY
Like most Malawians, the country has heard all there is to hear about Zuneth Sattar and how he compromised our buying systems in broad daylight. I am advising that Malawians jump over this fence, no face-slapping of anybody, and let us move on. And in this way no more. We can call it whatever we want (a truce, presidential pardon), but please let us ditch the storyline, forgive all involved, and move on. SIN NO MORE.
In the move, the country should pay Sattar the market value (not what he quoted) for the purchased goods he sold to the country. Then Malawi should BAN ANY COMPANY DOING BUSINESS WITH HIM. Yes, I am shouting.
It pains me to see so many front-page articles on Malawi, with sources from outside the country (or even those from within), intent on breaking our country by throwing mud at almost everything we are doing. This is almost like a parent wiping the nose of their grown-up child.
On our front pages, we could write good uplifting articles that highlight success stories like turning our fishing industry into a grand processed fisheries industry, or how to get a consortium of Malawi’s richest into sugarcane growing and sugar processing company. Media entities can be the engineers of turning the tables around by painting beautiful pictures of our country. Bring on the nation-building (and not nation-slashing) articles! Tanzanians have done it. We can too!
2. Stop the harassment and intimidation of journalists
Our fellow media Malawi News Network reported on Wednesday that “Beleaguered Malawi Defence Force (MDF) bosses have issued an order to have Investigative journalists Gregory Gondwe and Mercy Matonga ‘brought in for a chat’ over an earth-shaking story on payment of military equipment to Zuneth Sattar currently under corruption probe.” As social media analysts waxed lyrical and offered their wisdom and callouts to the two national security giants, it was disturbing to witness yet again another sign that while the country may be called a democracy, our constitutional entities are still mired with the ways and means of either a one-party government or a dictatorship.
The calls made to the Police (which is a service and not a force) and the Malawi Defence Force (there to protect Malawi from foreign invasion), must stop harassing, intimidating, threatening, or speaking negatively of journalists in their line of work. After all, the Police and our military are protected by law when they execute their line of work. Journalists too MUST be under the constitutional protection under the “Freedom of Speech” section.
There is ALWAYS room for any article that is worthy of print or airing, if deemed untrue, the other side can and is usually given space for the correction. If it is an awkward matter, the ‘No Comment” response still merits a place in fair comment land where the majority of journalists live. This is “for the sake of truth to prevail.”
Please be reminded that the media is the Fourth Branch of the nation; the first is the executive, the second the legislature, and the third is the judiciary.
3. Constitutional entities must be free of all political interference
On July 6, 2024, it will be the 60th anniversary of independence from colonial rule. I was a young primary school student and I vividly remember the path from Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia), and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), right down to the appointment of my father as high commissioner in the United Kingdom, the 1965 cabinet crisis that was followed by the entrenchment of the invincible mighty Malawi Congress Party under the rule of His Excellency, the Life President of the Republic of Malawi, Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda. The autocratic rule that evolved in the country lasted for 30 years and was replaced by the multi-party rule in 1994.
The 60 years of independence (30 autocratic and now 30 as a democracy) have been characterized by a highly politically charged country: almost anything and everything that is done, said, or achieved has political overtones. While under the MCP rule, the tone was how high you jumped for “your Kamuzu,” in democratic Malawi, it is simply “which political party do you support or are you a member of.” In both settings (one party and multiparty), Malawians are made to fear, dislike, and regard each other in terms of political party affiliations. Such questions as “is s/he one of ours?”
The Police Service and lately the MDF, institutions that are regulated by the Malawi Constitution, have been politicized, and the above considerations about political party affiliations are being made.
According to the constitution, the state president makes the appointments of the department heads of these institutions, and parliament then votes on the appointments.
Sadly and ironically, their removal has grown political wings: While it was the norm under the Banda rule, during these democratic rule since 1994, the hiring and firing of the MDF general, the Police IG, and even chief justices have been on the grounds such as not being sufficiently yellow (UDF), blue (DPP), orange (PP), or green (MCP).
These constitutional leaders are stipulated to serve the government of the day. To keep their jobs, many are serving the political party that is at the State House. Professionalism is being forced to fly out the window. This too, MUST STOP.
Such considerations have caused Malawians to change their political leanings like sunflower plants in a windy storm. The Police are meant to serve the citizens – ALL citizens, residents, and visitors/tourists; on its part, the MDF is the force that protects ALL Malawians and others within the country’s borders.
The change in the person occupying the State House need not lead to a change in the offices of the leaders of the constitutional institutions such as the Police, MDF, or judiciary.
The leaders of these constitutionally-established institutions on their part, must execute their duties in an apolitical manner. They must not perform their tasks in favor of the political party that they support.
Malawi must rise to a splendor that is nation-wide and the ways and means of nation-building in every Malawian’s mind, each one of the 22 million Malawians contributing to a building block, connected to other building blocks!
This is what democracy looks like!
