Situated within Malawi’s Majete Wildlife Reserve , discretely set around a serene floodlit waterhole, Thawale Lodge is a peaceful haven from which to experience the the best of Malawi’s wildlife.

Until now accommodation has comprised of six double and twin tented chalets, all en-suite and each with its own private veranda overlooking the waterhole. The unfenced camp is regularly visited by a range of animals, from elephants, buffalo, zebra, antelope, and sometimes even the reserve’s family of lions! 

The most recent development to the lodge is a brand new luxury family chalet. The chalet has two en-suite bathrooms, a beautifully thatched roof, features exterior stone work in the bathrooms, a small kitchen with tea and coffee facilities and a large veranda overlooking the watering hole. The chalet sleeps up to six, with prices including meals at Thawale lodge.

For more information and prices Tel: +265 (0) 999 521 741 or emailThawale@african-parks.org

BLANTYRE (MaraPost)–Public Affairs Committee’s (PAC) all-inclusive stakeholders conference ended on Wednesday with delegates unanimously demanding for the convening Parliament by March 10 to discuss the forensic audit report, the sale and whereabouts of proceeds of both the Presidential jet and ‘rotten maize’.

Delegates were earlier told by Justice Minister Fahad Assani and Finance Minister Dr. Maxwell Mkwezelamba that Parliament would be convened in April, but delegates opposed that it would unconstitutional to convene it after its dissolution on March 20.

Government representatives, mainly Assani tried to reason with the delegates to allow President Joyce Banda (in consultation with the Speaker of National Assembly) to convene Parliament in April, but their efforts proved futile as delegates stood to their ground demanding for immediate convening of Parliament to have some reasonable time to discuss issues national of importance.

Despite Finance Minister Mkwezalamba painting a ‘gloomy. picture’ that there are no funds to support the immediate convening of the House, delegates went ahead to tell the Speaker of National Assembly, Henry Chimunthu Banda, who was in attendance, to advise the Business Committee to meet and come up with the agenda and notifications.

Reverend Dr. Zacc Kawalala of Word Alive Ministries expressed fear that President may not convene the Parliament after its dissolution on March 20 as nobody would ‘twist her arm’ to recall Parliament.

Government side was more deflated when one delegate read out Section 67(4) of the Constitution which says “If, between the dissolution of the National Assembly and the general election that follows, the President if of the opinion that a constitutional criss or emergency has risen which requires urgent legislation or consideration by the National Assembly, he or she may reconvene the National Assembly for that purpose alone but in any event that reconvened National Assembly shall stand dissolved on the date of the general election.”

“You are telling us there funding and Parliament is failing to meet on the basis of lack funds while the President is spending over K30 million each outing to campaign under the banner of development rallies,” observed another delegate.

At this point, Finance of Justice succumbed and committed to deliver the message to the President (Joyce Banda) that Parliament must meet before March 10.

The delegates also recommended for the criminalization of handouts, which according to them, promotes corruption and plunder of public resources and “immediate removal” of Reserve Bank of Malawi Governor Charles Chuka for presiding over mismanagement of public resources, immediate publication of names of individuals and companies involved in the cashgate scam, among others.

They also advised the ministers to tell President to immediately stop the distribution of maize and ensure expedition and conclusion of cashgate cases before general elections.

“Failure to follow all these recommendations, she must step down to pave way for others,” said one delegates, attracting ululation and round of applause from the entire house.

Others accused the Malawi leader and her PP led government of not being transparent and. accountable.

In his response to me, the Electoral Commission’s Director of Media and Public Relations, Sangwani Mwafulirwa, cites the principle of ‘presumption of innocence’ in justifying the admission of a criminal suspect, Arthur-Peter Mutharika, to the presidential race in the coming general elections.

Mutharika is accused of committing one of the most serious crimes on the books in Malawi: Treason. The penalty if convicted can be life imprisonment or the death sentence.

The presumption of innocence is a court standard during criminal trial. It is a legal right of the accused that requires the burden of proof of his guilt to rest entirely with the prosecuting authority rather than on the accused. The defense attorney for the accused is there to, among other things, protect and promote his or her client’s right to the presumption of innocence, a big measure of the fairness of the trial. The presumption of innocence is therefore essentially about the conduct of a criminal trial.

MEC is no Defense Lawyer of Mutharika’s

Chaos reigns when every Jim, Jack and their dog think they are a court of law – applying the presumption of innocence in every administrative situation and damn the torpedoes. An employee accused of theft, for example, might still be suspended from his job despite not (yet) being convicted of theft by a court of law. This will be done to pave way for investigation and to prevent further theft. The presumption of innocence will come into play when trial begins, not necessarily when considering suspension. The same employee can be re-instated if trial fails to prove the accusation. But the suspension can still be a legitimate administrative necessity.

Even courts themselves can lawfully commit accused persons to custody awaiting trial and thus severely restrict their freedoms before conviction – and this while still considering them ‘innocent till proven guilty’. Accused persons can have their passports confiscated, thus severely restricting their ability to foreign travel – all the while the court still considers them ‘innocent till proven guilty’. Bailed suspects are also required to report at their nearest police stations periodically.

The presumption of innocence does not stop administrative necessities which have their own requirements and procedures outside of trial and/or conviction.

Fugitive from Prosecution

The passport confiscation and the reporting periodically to authorities examples are particularly apropos in this issue. Among other things, they are intended to discourage flight from prosecution.

I am putting it to the Electoral Commission that running for President whole answering criminal charges is akin to trying to flee from prosecution.

If such a candidate won the presidency, they would be immune from prosecution and the Electoral Commission would have provided the get-away vehicle. Surely that is not the role the Commission should be playing, is it?

Point of Agreement

Where I agree with Mr. Mwafulirwa is in two areas.

I agree with him when he states that if the Commission had rejected Mutharika’s candidacy, the DPP and the civil society groups would have come down on the MEC like a ton of bricks (my phraseology). But this should not scare the MEC into shrinking from its duty of preserving the integrity of the electoral process. The MEC’s job is not a job for the faint of heart; it is a job for those with tough livers.

Right is right and wrong is wrong. The MEC ought to have done the right thing for the integrity of the electoral process and let the chips fall where they may. The electoral business is a tough business and disputes are part and parcel of it. If you are the MEC, you must always be ready to fight the good fight for the sake of the integrity of the process. Nanga mpaka accused Treason criminal suspects being able to run for President?

I also agree with Mr. Mwafulirwa when he indicates that there is no specific law stopping the MEC from accepting the candidacy of a criminally accused person.

However, in this situation the MEC should take the path of most caution for the integrity of the process; not the path of least resistance which besmirches the process. The MEC should reject the controversial candidacy and await the results of judicial review. The MEC should not just fold into acquiescence, as it has done, and thus dilute its own mettle as a custodian of the integrity of Malawi’s electoral process.

Unfortunately, now it is too late. We have to accept the fact that a person accused of one of the most serious crimes in the land could be elected President this May. It is unlikely that his trial will be concluded by then. If he wins he will have managed to escape ever having to answer Treason accusations. At that point he will have his voters and the Electoral Commission, of all entities, to thank for his good fortune. Shame!

The author, Ambuje che Likambale, is from Balaka Township

BLANTYRE  (MaraPost)—Mr Hanleck Mbwetule who stole an external hard disk from the ICT dept of the Malawi Electoral Commission, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour by the Blantyre Magistrates’ Court today.

Mr Mbwetule, who worked as a temporary data entry clerk, was on Tuesday charged with an offence of theft by public servant. He pleaded guilty to the charge.

“We are in support of the forthcoming public demonstrations. It is our constitutional right Malawians to do so. This regime is taking us too much for granted. Public services and goods are collapsing in our very eyes due to inadequate funding to government ministries and agencies, and yet the President is spending our money everyday on useless campaign trails across the country.

She is not living by example. We are the bosses and they are supposed to serve our interests and not theirs. This regime is ruling by lies and deception. They are insensitive to our plight. They continue to spend our money on things that we are not aware about without supporting documents. May be public demonstrations is the only language they will understand.

We have advised, guided and engaged them and nothing seems to be changing for the better. We urge all our members and those of the public to come out in large numbers and participate in our God given right to assemble and demonstrate peacefully and unarmed. Malawi is our country. It is not only for politicians and the ruling elite.

They must account to us the people where the proceeds for the jet went, they must show us the records for the same, they must explain why they are not funding public institutions including the ACB and our National Assembly must meet according to the dictates of the Constitution. MRA is doing its best collect revenue but there is nothing to show for what that revenue is doing. Come one and come all!”

CAPE-TOWN, South-Africa, February 26, 2014 — Entries to the 2014 African Blogger Awards (http://www.africanbloggerawards.com), the continent’s very first awards programme that measures online and social influencers’ reach and influence through data analysis, are open to bloggers, Instagrammers, Tweeters and YouTubers across Africa.

The Awards have been divided into 36 categories, providing the opportunity for influencers on these platforms to be measured objectively against their peers, and duly recognised for their achievements. 

Categories are diverse, and include sectors such as Advice, Fashion and Beauty, Events and Nightlife, Education, Sports, Political, Technology and Gadgets, and Youth Culture among others. 

“The African Blogger Awards are the first completely impartial, objective awards for online and social influencers on the African continent because winners will be determined by data analytics provided by Webfluential, and not through peer nominations,” says Mike Sharman, co-founder of the African Blogger Awards. 

The Awards will also give brands and the marketing industry, including advertisers, public relations agencies and media buyers in each country, an impartial measurement of the most relevant online and social influencers to include in their campaigns, making sure that they achieve the greatest possible impact for their marketing spend. 

There is no cost to enter, but entrants are required to register their blog, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube profile (or a combination thereof) on Webfluential (http://www.webfluenti.al), a platform designed to quantify the reach, resonance and relevance of bloggers, Instagrammers, Tweeters and YouTubers with over 1000 active, legitimate followers. Evaluation of the entrants will be managed primarily through Webfluential (https://webfluenti.al)

•          Reach measures the size of an influencer’s audience (following) per social media network.

•          Resonance is a measure of how widely the content that an influencer shares reaches outside of their own community.

•          Relevance is a measure of the response from the influencer’s community in the form of likes, comments, retweets. 

Bloggers, Instagrammers, Tweeters and YouTubers who are permanent residents of any African country are eligible to enter the African Blogger Awards. 

Entries for the awards close on 9 March 2014 at midnight GMT+2, and results will be announced on 16 April 2014 via the competition’s Twitter profile, @African_Blogger, from 11h00 GMT+2. Overall awards for Africa’s Top Blogger, Top Instagrammer, Top Tweeter and Top YouTuber will be announced on 18 April 2014 at a celebration hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Winners in each category will receive a web banner announcing their achievement that can be personally-leveraged through their social network and a commemorative trophy. 

“As the competition grows, we plan to host the awards ceremony in other cities on the African continent each year, in recognition of the enormous influence that the online community has on news, lifestyle, media and marketing across the continent,” says Murray Legg, co-founder of the African Blogger Awards. 

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the 2014 African Blogger Awards.

Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) would win any award hands down when it comes to bias in its political coverage. One of the main reasons is that the executive arm of government, which in Malawi is hardly different from the ruling party, remains the main appointing authority at the institution. Perhaps this is why the state president needs to stand down before officially handing in their election nomination papers? The issue of bias at MBC is not new but it is inevitably revoked as the country prepares for the 20th May tripartite elections.

Importance of the media in a democracy is well documented. News media is a connective tissue between the electorate and those looking to get elected. This is one of the reasons that elections monitoring groups include news media when assessing fairness and merits of elections. Every election observer’s report since 1994 has faulted MBC as biased towards the incumbency.MBC is mandated by Communications act (1998) to operate as a public broadcaster. This means the broadcaster is meant to be a public good, funded by taxpayers and operating in the interest of all Malawians. Not selected individuals, interest groups or political groupings. It is daft to ask a sitting president to ‘open-up’ MBC when such mandate is clearly spelled out in the Communications act. Where is MACRA? Alas! It is full of political appointees too. Who would willingly bite a finger that feeds?

Yet MBC is not the only culprit. The whole Malawi media fraternity are just as biased, albeit to a different degree. The media in general have a tendency to pick what they perceive as main contenders in elections, for various reasons. These contestants are a front-page story and they are given substantial coverage often for saying things that if it were any lesser candidate in the same race the story would be buried in the inside pages or slotted at the end of the news bulleting, if it makes news at all.

Surely this also constitutes to media bias. Yes, more prominent people are, in journalistic terms, more newsworthy than the less prominent but here we are talking about national elections where all the competing candidates are supposed to be equal, contesting for the same positions, following the same regulations and guidelines.

I was surprised to note that twelve presidential candidates initially presented their nomination papers a couple of weeks ago. This is not the impression one gets going through media reports on daily basis. Radio debates have been organised, some even funded by British High Commission yet these only feature representatives from four supposedly leading parties; MCP, UDF, DPP and PP. I doubt there are many people that would name at least half of those twelve candidates. I would certainly struggle to name all of them without referencing. Yet there are about 12 to the polling day.

‘Common sense’ may suggest there is some logic that the media are following. After all it happens throughout the world after all. Labour and Conservatives in UK get far more media coverage than Green Party and UKIP, for example.

It is a plausible argument but not a correct one. The media ought to give people all the available options impartially. It is up to the electorate to make their decision based on that impartial information. It is not the duty of the media to do the shortlisting for the people. This is what it means by levelling the playing field. The media want ‘leading candidates’ to headline newspapers and news bulletins but that is not the point. This is precisely what MBC is accused of.

It is fine for media organisations to declare their political interests. It is perhaps better that way because people know exactly what they are getting. In time of elections media coverage set the tone, it sets barriers and it leads the path that society follows. As it is, the media through news reports, opinion columns, such as this one and commentary are leading the way for Malawians to follow.

The media must give political parties coverage based on what they stand for not the size of political parties. It is not the size but policies that matter. Mark Katsonga is right, zipani za kuMalawi zimakulira ku Sanjika (political parties in Malawi grow while in power). Every party with clear ideas and policies can govern if given a chance.

The Malawi Electoral Commission would like to give a response and a clarification on some issues that were raised and misrepresented in the article “PP, DPP and MEC; Malawi’s dysfunctional bedfellows”  by Mr Tom Likambale.

In the article Mr Likambale bundled PP, DPP and MEC as a trio that is ruining Malawi. The sin of the Commission, according to Mr Likambale, is that it made an error by allowing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate to contest in the 2014 Presidential Elections.

According to Mr Likambale since the DPP candidate is answering treason charges he could have been barred from contesting in the elections as treason is a serious offence despite everyone being presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law.

It is good that Mr Likambale acknowledges the presumption of innocence for anyone answering to a crime charge. The Commission would like to build its case from that perspective.

The Commission conducts elections based on existing legislation not on moral or rational grounds, no matter how appealing it may be.

The laws in Malawi do not stop anyone from contesting regardless of the case they are answering in court. It will be a gross violation of human rights for the Commission to decide to bar anyone from contesting on the basis of a case that has not been concluded in court.

Such a move can be challenged and be easily overturned in a court of law because it has no backing or supporting legislation at the moment. Apart from that it can also attract condemnation from the public, electoral stakeholders and the civil society organisations. This can easily undermine all the confidence that stakeholders have in the Commission that it can conduct free and fair elections.

It is very surprising and difficult for the Commission to understand the assertion by Mr Likambale that by allowing a treason suspect to contest in elections, the Commission pushed the nation to join the ranks of dubious, if not laughable democracies.

To our understanding, conducting elections within the precincts of the law is the ultimate realisation and demonstration of maturity of democracy and rule of law. Mr Likambale should know that even a bad law remains a law and has to be respected as such until it is amended, repealed by Parliament or corrected by a court precedent.

Mr Likambale should know that law is dynamic and progressive. It can be amended at any time if a particular section is seen be ineffective. If Mr Likambale feels there is need for a law barring persons who are answering serious crimes like treason from contesting, he is free to move the process through the various channels to

Even, before we have such a law in place, it has to be considered if the law can serve a better public good and promote our democracy. Would such a law not be prone to abuse whereby individuals will just be arrested on trumped up charges just to prevent them from contesting? What would be the remedy in a situation one is found not guilty but was stopped from contesting because of the treason charges?

The Commission is assuring all stakeholders that it is committed to supporting    the         strengthening of democracy in Malawi by conducting elections within the provisions of the law and will respect the law to the letter.

It still remains a fact that, regardless of the gravity of the case, the accused can either be found guilty or innocent. That is why some candidates who are still answering charges, even serious charges, have been allowed to contest in elections.

Yours sincerely,

Sangwani Mwafulirwa

DIRECTOR, Media and Public Relations

Malawi Electoral Commission

A circulating story suggests that money acquired from the sale of Malawi‘s presidential jet cannot be traced. I’m talking a whole U$D15, 000, 000. Okay, so let me get this straight: President Bingu wa Mutharika, DPP, diverted DFID funds to procure a presidential jet without authorisation. In its turn, the PP government of President Joyce Banda has sold the jet but the proceeds are missing? What a situation! What a country!

Meanwhile, rumours suggest that the jet was not so much sold as merely parked outside Malawi and Mrs. Banda still uses it on some outings. I hope, for our country’s sake, that this is just someone’s idea of a sick joke and has no foundation in fact.

However, it seems clear that when it comes to accounting for public money, the previous DPP government and the current PP government merge into one miasma of misinformation. As the jet story illustrates, the two parties share a sinister penchant for sleight of hand regarding administering and accounting for public finances.

Indeed, the Joyce Banda administration repeats at every opportunity that the infamous looting of the people’s money dubbed Cashgate started in 2005 during DPP government. As we know, this practice is still ongoing. The current government has done a lot but not enough to either speedily bring suspects to justice or to recover stolen public money and/or property.

Palaces and mansions built by civil servants and politicians who could not afford them on their legitimate earnings remain firmly under their ownership despite all Cashgate revelations and arrests. This administration has simply not acted fast enough nor effectively enough to restore public confidence in its remedial actions in the face of this monumental looting.

Arthur-Peter Mutharika and the MHC

And it’s not just about Cashgate. The Joyce Banda administration has abdicated its responsibility to recover Malawi Housing Corporation property obtained by Arthur-Peter Mutharika and other DPP officials while Mutharika’s older brother was President of the Republic a few short months ago.

According to news reports of the time, Arthur-Peter Mutharika paid K7, 295, 255.75 to acquire a Nyambadwe MHC house formally evaluated at K14, 800, 000. President Bingu wa Mutharika, his family and some members of his party’s politburo were implicated in the same acquisitions. The properties had apparently not been advertised for sale. The distinct impression left by press reports was of a massive, fraudulent self-enrichment scheme. The media suggested that the MHC lost a total of K105, 000, 000 in these scams.

What is baffling is the failure so far of the Joyce Banda administration to return these properties to their rightful owners, the people of Malawi, and to prosecute those who were involved in the gluttonous malfeasance. Perhaps this is what Mrs. Banda meant at her swearing-in two years ago when she vowed ‘no vengeance’ against those who were her tormentors in the DPP while she served as an ostracised Vice President.

But reclaiming stolen property and prosecuting thieves is not about revenge; it is about promoting and upholding the rule of law, constitutionally required of the person holding presidential office in the Republic of Malawi.

Treason Suspect as Presidential Candidate

Moreover, by having Arthur-Peter Mutharika, a man charged with Treason, as one of the presidential candidates in this election, Malawi joins the ranks of dubious, if not laughable, ‘democracies’. The presumption of innocence notwithstanding, Treason is one of the most serious crimes on the books and it is simply crazy that someone answering that charge can freely be standing as a candidate for the highest office in the land.

If he wins he will, of course, enjoy presidential immunity from any prosecution. By allowing suspects of serious crimes to stand as Presidential candidates, therefore, the Malawi Electoral Commission offers an escape channel for fugitives from prosecution. It is a free pass because even if one may say the person could be prosecuted after they have served as President, we all know this is unlikely if not impossible in our circumstances. With all due respect to the MEC, this is not the role it is supposed to be playing.

Surely there ought to be a law that prevents people charged with serious crimes, e.g. crimes for which one can be sentenced to a certain minimum number of years in prison or to death, from contesting for presidential elections. The MEC already bars people from contesting based on much less serious situations. In these elections, for example, reports indicate that Professor John Chisi has been disqualified as a presidential candidate for maintaining a public office as a lecturer at the College of Medicine. Surely remaining a university lecturer is a much less serious problem, if it is a problem, than being charged with the crime of Treason!

Bedfellows in Ruining Malawi

The PP and the DPP, because of the gargantuan looting and corruption that have been reported under their watch, are a double-barrelled threat to Malawi’s prosperity. Being a ruling party official or member should not free one from prosecution for theft and corruption nor from the requirement of restitution of the stolen property or money.

Revelations that President Bingu wa Mutharika (DPP) and his family stole over 61 billion Kwacha from the public purse; the sale of the presidential jet allegedly without compensation; and the daily revelations in the media regarding the Cashgate crisis under President Joyce Banda (PP), combine to make 2004 – 2014 Malawi’s decade of stagnation and lost opportunities. We thus approach our golden jubilee of independence with despair. There ought to be visible and tangible consequences for these crimes and let the chips fall where they may.

In addition, some of the eligibility rules governing presidential candidacy are conspiring to lower the bar on the quality and integrity of our system and threaten our future as a country which adheres to the rule of law. Breaking the law has to have consequences. Running for President should not be for those answering serious criminal charges. Does anyone really believe that theft and corruption will effectively be fought, and law and order restored, if Treason suspect Arthur-Peter Mutharika is – God forbid! – elected President of the Republic? If we were able to talk to the dead, what would his answer be if the question were put to Robert Chasowa?

•  The author, Ambuje che Tom Likambale, is from Balaka Township, Malawi