Malawi post-election violence: President Mutharika is a true democrat

Since President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the May 21 tripartite elections, the opposition, particularly the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and more recently the UTM Party, have been up in arms. They are disputing the election, claiming it was rigged; they have even gone to the courts to seek redress and are asking the courts to nullify the results.

Senior police officer injured during the protests at Capital Hill in Lilongwe
Senior police officer injured during the protests at Capital Hill in Lilongwe

They have not just ended there, MCP supporters have in particular been very vocal and unruly; they have been behaving like wild dogs and have taken the law into their own hands.  With urging from their President, Dr Lazarus Chakwera, MCP supporters have been staging some rampage demonstrations mostly in the central region part of Malawi to express their dissatisfaction with the elections.

They have looted other people’s shops and damaged property worth hundreds of millions of Kwacha belonging to government and innocent individuals, and they still look like they don’t care; they have beaten supporters of other political parties particularly the DPP; they even chased people from the southern region of the country from their homes for suspecting them to be DPP because in their minds everyone from the southern region is DPP.

The MCP supporters even took to the headquarters of government in Malawi – the Capital Hill – apparently to chase and flush out all civil servants who are reporting for work so that they must not ‘work for Peter Mutharika’s government.’

In their wisdom, the MCP supporters still think it was Chakwera who won the elections and are doing everything in their means to destabilize and topple the duly elected DPP government.

Ironically, the supporters are doing all these things; behaving like hysterical rabbits whilst the election case is in court. They are like the double-faced Janus with two faces: one face very legal  and following the due process of the law whilst the other face illegal  and wild, doing everything possible to break the very law the other face is trying to adhere to.

Malawian President Peter Mutharika, left, is presented with the Sword of Command by the Malawi Defence Force Commander General Griffin Phiri, right, during an inauguration ceremony at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, Malawi, Friday May 31, 2019. Mutharika narrowly won re-election with 38% of the votes in last week’s polls, the electoral commission declared Monday. (AP Photo/Thoko Chikondi)

However, the Peter Mutharika government has remained admirably cool, calm and collective under the circumstances. Examples abound of how the same context of politics played out within the SADC region in not so distant past. The late Morgan Tsvangirai was constantly in and out of the hospital for his so many countless battles with Zimbabwean Police under Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai can easily go down in history as perhaps the most beaten opposition leader in this part of Africa in a country that calls itself a democracy.

His successor, Nelson Chamisa has also not been spared the vent of government even under a different President. Just after the elections last year, Chamisa was furiously clobbered by security forces when he tried to take a flight at Harare International Airport for a trip outside the country.

In Zambia opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema can also goes down in history as one of the most arrested individuals in the country’s history for showing signs of insubordination and for instigating lawlessness against an elected government. At one point Hakainde Hichilema was clobbered by security forces fornot giving way to a presidential convoy to pass, apparently because he did not recognize the President of that country as an elected individual.

In Malawi, however, the government of President Mutharika has remained calm under the circumstances, despite the blatant provocation and lawlessness that is being displayed by opposition leaders and their supporters. There has not been any arrest or beating of opposition leaders, and they are all enjoying the comforts of their homes.

In fact, Chakwera has been allowed to be sworn in as Member of Parliament (MP), and he is free to issue his less thoughtful orders for his supporters to be violent from the comfort of his home. There cannot be any mark of democracy more than that, and Malawi can easily go down as the most democratic country in the SADC region.

The other mistake that the opposition are also making is to take Mutharika’s calmness under the circumstances as a sign of weakness. This is clearly wrong.  This is a President who has just won an election; he is Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) and has all the government apparatus under his control. He is capable of making a decision to make the world more painful for opposition leaders and their supporters if he wants to, but has simply chosen not to because he is a tolerant individual who believes in democracy.

This is, however, not a sign of weakness; in fact it is a sign of strength.

As a leader, President Mutharika understands that the true mark of a democracy is not about having democratic institutions but ensuring that the institutions actually work in the promotion of the rule of law.

He is a constitutional lawyer and he is very aware that there are cases in court and that adequate space must be created to allow the court process to flow and make a determination. That’s perhaps the only reason he has exercised restraint against the errant opposition leaders and their supporters. A true democrat President Mutharika is.

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :

Sharing is caring!

Follow us in Twitter
65 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Sowago
Sowago
4 years ago

Mcp is a party of violence, always has been and always will be.

Gold Ruyondo
Gold Ruyondo
4 years ago

So since opposition leaders re not arrested or beaten that becomes the yard stick for one to be called a democrat?

Wa Dallo
4 years ago

Freeze all trucks carrying tippex into the country and you will enjoy your peace. I am still working on my broken pit latrine.

NERAIN
NERAIN
4 years ago

We thanked Mr President and the winning DPP for remaining calm and not retaliating at the violent and volatile MCP. However things seem still not good at the moment as losing MCP have no respect for law. It is urgently suggested that certain freedoms and rights must be frozen in this country as we can not substitute unlawfulness for these freedoms and rights. In an election there is one winner and losing an election does not mean grieve violently over the loss.

Murupale pa Thyolo
Murupale pa Thyolo
4 years ago

Kodi kupangitsa msonkhano osangalala kuwina chisankho munthu wamkulu kumanena kuti akulira kuti “Mia Mia” kumeneko nkumati he is a Democrat or ndiwodekha? Rewrite your article and include the MIA-Mia to balance it up. Ndiyankhe kape walemba article yi

Aldrin
Aldrin
4 years ago

No much to comment about the article, but the part about the President of the MDC in Zimbabwe, Nelson Chamisa, being clobbered soon after the general elections last year is not correct.

Curtsley
Curtsley
4 years ago

Malawi was a peace loving country admired by many countries in Africa. What many Malawians do not know is that the ruling Party did the same style in 2014 and other parties simply accepted for the sake of maintaining peace and stability in the country and NOT that DPP won the elections.2019 the same has been repeated and their friends have finally played the word ENOUGH is ENOUGH. MEC and Mr Peter are creating Revolution in the country which is not fair at all! MEC knows the wholly truth of the matter but where money has exchanged hands the Commissioners… Read more »

Ajofia
Ajofia
4 years ago

The column is empty. I have just wasted my time reading it.

Dolph
Dolph
4 years ago

Tangokharani muwone zomwe ziti achitike boma ndi boma basi

Charie
Charie
4 years ago

It’s true peter is our president kwakuka mkuderela basi ofunika awathire zingwe.

Read previous post:
Miss Albinism beauty pageant to be held – Apam

Association of persons with albinism will hold Mr and Miss albinism beauty pageant and  talent show on September 7 this...

Close