Can Amayi be betrayed?: A lesson from previous administrations
I was young but I still recall what was happening that time. This is because I believe that without history, the long journey of life is nothing but just like a huge bottle tree without roots. I remember when my father told me that ‘Never underestimate yesterday’s events because they help to shape the today and gently help the preparation for tomorrow’. When I asked him to shade more light; he had this to say ‘Son, if you forget history (where you are coming from), you lose the foundation of your future’.
I believe I was not the only lucky boy to swallow such beautiful advice. I hope many wise men did the same to the leaders of tomorrow. May be this is why Ngwazi Kamuzu Banda, used to remind us to keep history i.e how he and others fought and drove out the colonial master from Malawi. Yes, he wanted Malawi not to forget where she is coming from. In this context, bravo to Zodiak for introducing: Zingayambe kuyiwalika program. Now, the question is why should we keep old records?
Political journey
Ngwazi Kamuzu Banda started his political journey in 1958 when he landed back home from England. Following the 1964 independence, he was the first Malawi leader.I believe that he was a gentleman who ruled the country wisely though some named him a dictator. But what spoiled his beautiful nationalist ideas he brought home? If I may answer this question I would say; yes Bwana syndrome betrayed him’ His Makhadi youth boys ,Misonkho messager boys and those surrounding his throne damaged his name under the umbrella of loyalty, but unfortunately he bear the consequence. It is not a hidden story that people turned against him in 1993-1994 with the wave of Change; kaya wina afune kaya asafune chaka chino zinthu zisitha basi, said Bakili Muluzi.
Consequently, Malawians enjoyed all kinds of freedoms that they waited for decades. Nevertheless, the change brought a strange notion of corruption in the mouth of Malawians which was not common place during the Ngwazi rule. Again here, his officials and Boys known as young democrats betrayed him, and just like Kamuzu, Muluzi bear the burden of the outcome of maltreatment of citizens by his young democrats when his government was named as the most corrupt administration Malawi has ever produced.
So too the late Mutharika was betrayed by his own boys. Some named him Mose walero while others nicknamed him Chitsulo cha Njanji, putting him at the level of super natural being. The end result is that he is named as a second Malawi dictator after Kamuzu.
Today is Amayi era. Will she walk in the same path? Some are saying, it is too early to judge. If this is the case, then I will just forward my advice to her. But my worry is that when I look at those surrounding her throne are the same boys who betrayed the two Ngwazi and Muluzi, but still Amay don’t let them to be in your shoes because you don’t know what kind of socks they are putting on! and remember yesterday’s events shape the today and it is a building block of tomorrow.
*The Author of this article is a Malawian student at the International Islamic university Malaysia pursuing Master’s Degree in Political Science
