Malawian leader serious about tackling corruption
ON MONDAY Malawi celebrated 56 years of independence from Britain; with the average age of the population at just under 18 years, very few of the country’s citizens can remember when the territory was still called Nyasaland.
Monday was also the day that Lazarus Chakwera officially became Malawi’s new president – its sixth head of state since independence.
Chakwera’s predecessor, Peter Mutharika, was previously declared the winner of an election subsequently discovered to have been rigged.
Hoping to hold onto power, Mutharika unleashed a reign of terror on pro-democracy protesters in Malawi, and the police were found to have raped several female protesters.
With more protests, legal challenges and international pressure, Mutharika’s victory was eventually overturned by the country’s Supreme Court. In a rerun, Chakwera and his “Tonse Alliance” won the election with 58.5% of the vote.
The ascension of Chakwera – who speaks with a Southern American drawl, similar to that of a Baptist pastor – was particularly pleasing, coming at a time when democracy has been on the retreat around the world, and especially on the African continent.
Instead of fostering democracy, leaders of countries neighbouring Malawi sought to oppress their citizens, expressly Zambia and Tanzania.
In Zimbabwe, those who celebrated the removal of Robert Mugabe soon learnt old habits die hard and that his successor trod the same path of corruption, incompetence and oppression.
While Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Chakwera on his poll victory, the party he leads has been silent, perhaps because Malawi’s new ruling party – which has been out of power for 26 years – had a very cosy relationship with the apartheid regime.
Now that he has taken the reins from Mutharika, the hard work starts in improving the lives of Malawi’s citizens, many of whom have fled the country in search of better economic opportunities.
Chakwera has to tackle corruption in the nation, where there has been no distinction between the state and the ruling party – not unlike many African countries, including South Africa.
He has indicated, through his first appointments, that he is serious about tackling corruption, but Malawians might have to use the same energy they used to boot Mutharika from office to keep Chakwera accountable.