Editorial | Chakwera’s Handshake with History

This Saturday, at Kamuzu Stadium, President Lazarus Chakwera will walk into history. For the first time since Malawi embraced multiparty democracy in 1994, a sitting president will not only accept defeat at the ballot but will personally attend the inauguration of an opposition successor to hand over the reins of power.

Make no mistake—this is no ordinary ceremony. It is a watershed moment that should be etched in the nation’s democratic memory. For 30 years, Malawi’s transitions of power have been marred by bitterness, boycotts, and contested legitimacy. Founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda shunned Bakili Muluzi’s swearing-in in 1994. Joyce Banda absented herself when Peter Mutharika took the oath in 2014. And Mutharika himself refused to show up when Chakwera was inaugurated in 2020 after the historic Fresh Presidential Election.

The only smooth handover came in 2004, when Bakili Muluzi handed power to Bingu wa Mutharika—but that was within the same ruling party, not across the aisle. Never before has an outgoing leader had the courage, humility, and statesmanship to publicly pass the torch to an opponent.

Chakwera’s decision, therefore, is not just about him. It is about democracy itself. By breaking with a toxic tradition of grudges and silence, he is affirming that Malawi’s democracy is bigger than any single leader or party. He is telling the nation—and the world—that power belongs to the people, and when they speak at the ballot, even the highest office in the land must listen and bow.

This gesture deserves celebration. It is statesmanship of the highest order. It is patriotism in action. And it is an example that all future leaders must treasure and emulate. In a country where political rivalries too often descend into bitterness, Chakwera has shown that losing an election does not mean losing one’s dignity. On the contrary, he has proven that there is greater honour in respecting the will of the people than in clinging to power.

Malawi has long prided itself as the “warm heart of Africa.” This act of democratic maturity now gives substance to that name. By choosing humility over hubris, unity over division, and country over self, Chakwera has raised the bar for what leadership should mean in this young democracy.

Future presidents must take note. The measure of a leader is not just how they wield power, but how they surrender it when the time comes. Chakwera has done what none before him dared to do. He has shaken hands with history—and Malawi is the better for it.

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