The Malawian Political Roller Coaster Ride

A narrative of events from July to September 2011

The Constitution of Malawi
12 This Constitution is founded upon the following underlying principles:-
i. All legal and political authority of the State derives from the people of Malawi and shall be
exercised in accordance with this Constitution solely to serve and protect their interests.
ii. All persons responsible for the exercise of powers of State do so on trust and shall only
exercise such power to the extent of their lawful authority and in accordance with their
responsibilities to the people of Malawi.
iii. The authority to exercise power of State is conditional upon the sustained trust of the people of
Malawi and that trust can only be maintained through open, accountable and transparent
Government and informed democratic choice.
Background
Despite the above-stated principles that underpin our Constitution, Malawi suffers from an
inequitable neo-patrimonialistic paradigm premised upon a pervasive system of political patronage,
compounded by systemic poverty, illiteracy and ignorance, which politicians are adept at mobilizing
and exploiting.
The Government, headed by President Bingu wa Mutharika, enjoyed a remarkable landslide
victory in the 2009 General Elections following a turbulent first term characterised by his defection
from the United Democratic Front (UDF), which had hoisted him into the Presidential driving seat
and, with this divorce, creating a unique scenario wherein the incumbent President had no party in
Parliament to support his policies and pass legislation necessary for his programs. The first term
could thus be described as a political comedy which could have easily turned turned tragic but,
despite being held in check by a rampant opposition, he achieved remarkable economic growth
despite democratic lapses (attributed to his need for political survival), and managed to address
the perennial problem of persistent hunger with the help of a high calibre Cabinet. The second term
however, was the point when the political gloves were removed to expose the entrenched
structural instabilities of Malawi's political order and the deep insecurities of incumbency.
Bingu's second term has been a veritable litany of woes, ranging from muzzling the media, passing
oppressive laws that violate the very spirit of the Constitution, constricting political space for
alternate views, economic policies that have led to acute foreign currency and fuel shortages,
exacerbating economic woes through wanton profligacy and reckless expenditure, severing vital
financial support (forex) by arbitrarily deporting the British High Commissioner thereby alienating
the International Community and, in so doing, jeopardising revenue inflow amounting to over 40%
of the National Budget, and imposing punitive taxes on essential goods and pro-poor services
whilst refusing to curb governmental (over) expenditure commensurately.
The Petition
Faith-based groups, academics and civil society organisations all earnestly attempted to convey
their concerns to the government on these issues – urging the authorities to halt the descent
towards dire days of authoritarian one party rule, but the government simply disregarded all

20/10/2011 1
entreaties, blithely continued upon its destructive path, and responded to growing discontent by
threatening critics and harassing civil society activists. Civil Society subsequently mobilised into a
semblance of coherence to exert countervailing influence to change the current course towards
inevitable catastrophe looming large on the horizon.
The Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) provided the umbrella under which various
disparate groupings, such as NGOs, the Faith Communities, Malawi Congress of Trade Unions
(MCTU) and The Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI) amongst others, gathered for a common cause
– i.e. to convince the President and the Government to become more accountable and responsive
to the electorate.
A Petition, highlighting key concerns and recommendations pertaining to economic and political
(mis)governance, was collectively drafted and, after having being endorsed by all the stakeholders,
plans were laid to hold nation wide demonstrations during which the said petition would be
delivered to various offices throughout the country for the direct attention of the President.
The Demonstration
With the economic situation worsening by the day, thousands of people
took to the streets on Wednesday, 20th July 2011 in a series of marches
that had been planned and advertised well in advance. Ironically, the
same government that outlawed ex parte injunctions by the citizenry
against any governmental action, now used the same strategy through
a proxy, and obtained an ex parte injunction from a newly promoted
judge (Chifundo Kachale) to stop the demonstrations from taking place.
This blatant manipulation of the judicial system fuelled widespread
anger when it was announced to those gathered to march the next day,
especially when it was used as a pretext by the Police to delay, harass,
scatter and even assault demonstrators. As a result, mob violence
inevitably broke out. Buildings and property ostensibly belonging to the
Presidential inner circle were especially targeted by looters and
vandals. The Police, in a typical show of unfettered brutality, used live
ammunition (dumdum bullets) against unarmed civilians, slaughtering
20 people (complying with a 'shoot to kill' presidential directive),
seriously injuring and arresting hundreds in an effort to exert control.
But the point had been made, the corridors of power had been shaken,
the power elites had to pause to deal with this new threat to their sense
of complacent impunity.
On the next day (21st July), President Mutharika appealed for calm and invited Civil Society
Leaders to the Presidential Palace to discuss the issues raised in the petition and identify solutions
however he displayed his true colours once again on the 22 nd July when, during an graduation
ceremony for Police cadets, he stated: “To overthrow a legitimate government is
treasonous and you will hear from me soon, I will smoke
you out wherever you are because you have no right to destroy our peace.”

The Ill fated Vigil of 17th August 2011

The Petition had stipulated that the Government must respond to all the issues raised by 17th
August 2011, but a positive response was noticeably absent, thereby making follow-up protests
inevitable. Sadly, the government remained unapologetic even after the milestone demonstration of
20th July. The President used public events to issue obdurate threats such as 'I'll smoke you out”,
against the organisers of the march. Arrest warrants for treason were issued for civil society
leaders: Undule Mwakasungula, McDonald Sembereka, Rafiq Hajat and Benedict Kondowe, who
promptly went to ground, but remain resolute in the face of presidential threats to ‘smoke out’ any
detractors and declarations of war on the streets.

20/10/2011 2
The situation became even more confused by rumours of the army (Malawi Defence Force - MDF)
threatening to march because their Commander, General had been summarily (removed) retired
from his position and replaced with someone from the same tribe as Mutharika, who could thus be
relied upon to exert greater control on the MDF.
To make matters worse, the Civil Service were becoming more discomfited by the day due to
unpaid salary arrears, whilst Mutharika graciously rewarded the Police Force with bonuses of
MK60,000 each (blood money) for their performance (shooting unarmed civilians) on the 20 th and
21st of July 2011.
Meanwhile, the First Lady, who may have been irritated by the petition mentioning her 'salary' of
MK1.2 million per month (backdated by 6 moths) ostensibly for doing charity work, went on public
record by telling NGOs 'to go to hell' at an opening ceremony for a health centre that was,
ironically, built by an NGO! In the same speech, she is reported to have told the villagers that they
had no need for fuel because they did not own vehicles and no need for foreign exchange because
they did not engage in cross-border trade! Thus, according to her, the current disturbances were
largely being driven by NGOs and urban based elites who were disgruntled by the success of the
Mutharika regime. This cavalier arrogance drew widespread criticism from all quarters of society
but Madame Callista remained trenchantly unapologetic!
The Capitulation
The clock was ticking and the count down to the vigil scheduled for August 17 th was uppermost in
the public mind, but the Government continued stonewalling on the issues raised in the petition,
preferring instead to issue veiled threats of dire consequences if the vigil went ahead. Rumours
were rife about 'DPP Cadets' (thugs) reinforced by a force of approximately 300 armed
'Mercenaries', who had ostensibly been imported from Zimbabwe, being unleashed on
demonstrators, who would be left totally defenceless without even a vestige of Police protection.
On 16th August, two young men, driving an expensive hired car, visited the IPI Office where a SR
Organising Committee was taking place. They met with the Chief Organisers, Rafiq Hajat and Ken
Williams Mhango and claimed to have penetrated a group formed by DPP functionaries to sow
terror amongst dissidents by using various tactics such as burning offices and homes! They
went on to say that a house had been specially rented for the Terror Team in Zingwangwa (a local
suburb in Blantyre), from which all such operations would be coordinated and then produced a list
of names that were targeted for 'special attention'. This memory later returned to haunt the CSO
Leaders when one of the men, identified as the President of an activist group, Youth for Democracy
& Freedom (YDF), Robert Chasowa, was found brutally murdered on the Polytechnic campus on
Saturday, 24th September 2011.
On August 15th, the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) held an interdenominational prayer meeting at
the COMESA Hall in Blantyre where Bishop Zuza delivered a searing homily with great courage
and conviction. He cautioned against rampant egotism and arrogance. apportioning blame and the
disastrous consequences of creating strife in a peaceful society. The function was attended by
President Mutharika, who sat through the sermon with a stony face, but the DPP spindoctors were
soon hard at work to denigrate the sermon and demand that the Bishop apologise for his thinly
veiled insults allegedly levelled against the Head of State.
“My dear brothers and sisters, the person who thinks and believes that he or she is perfect is
actually the most stupid and foolish person. In Chichewa and Tumbuka we call such people as
“chitsiru chamunthu,” (a veritable idiot) or “chindere chakufikapo.” Do we want to be called
“chitsiru” or “chindere” because we think and believe we’re perfect and therefore we have all the
best solutions for the storm that is passing through our country? Fellow Malawians, let us not
become stupid people.”
On the same day (Aug 15th), a group of activists and political parties representatives attended the
High Court in Blantyre to vacate an injunction that had been applied for by two 'businessmen'
(vendors) on the grounds that demonstrations disturbed their business and was thus detrimental to
their livelihood. This misguided action appeared to have been prompted by the whistle-stop tour by

20/10/2011 3
President Mutharika of vendor markets a few days earlier, urging vendors to oppose and resist any
demonstrations. The source of the funds and confidence with which two young vendors had lodged
such an audacious application through a judicial system that is normally viewed with suspicion and
antipathy by the informal sector, also gave rise to suspicions as to who the instigators really were.
Whilst the court hearing was underway, the Southern Region Organising Committee was meeting
at the office of the Institute for Policy Interaction (IPI), which had become the de facto meeting
place for the Southern Region since the commencement of the campaign, to finalise strategy and
logistics for the envisaged vigil scheduled for August 17th. During that meeting, one of the
attendees, Billy Banda, received a telephone call from the Human Rights Consultative Committee
Chair, Undule Mwakasungula, who informed him that the the vigil had been called off due to the
lack of security and pressure from the Police. The Main Coordinating Committee had instead,
opted to request a United Nations team that was currently on a fact finding mission in Malawi, to
facilitate dialogue between Civil Society and the Government on the issues raised in the petition.
Needless to say, this caused tremendous discomfiture amongst the Southern Region Committee
Members, who saw it as a betrayal of the public trust & confidence which had been vested in Civil
Society pursuant to the demonstration of July 20 th, and as such, undermining the very raison d'etre
of Civil Society. The meeting broke up amidst an atmosphere of gloom and despair and an
emergency meeting was scheduled at IPI for the morning of the next day (16th Aug).
During the emergency meeting, Ralph Kasambara, a prominent lawyer, civil rights activist and
politician, provided legal overview and his opinion on the quandary facing the Southern Region
Committee; i.e. whether to proceed with the vigil or not. The meeting agreed that it would not be
appropriate or, indeed, even feasible, 'to go it alone' and members instead decided to hold a press
conference to announce the postponement of the vigil (instead of cancellation – as had been
suggested by the Main Committee) with explanatory rationale underpinning the decision and the
setting of a specific future date (Sept 17th) for the continuation of the event. It was hoped the
subsequent press release would help to defuse public suspicions of a 'sell out' by Civil Society
leaders though the ensuing backlash soon disproved that theory.
The UN Debriefing & CONGOMA/HRCC Explanatory Meeting
The Council for NGOs in Malawi (CONGOMA), together with HRCC, called for a meeting of Civil
Society Leaders at Lilongwe Hotel on Saturday, August 20 th which at first, seemed to be an attempt
to provide a forum for explanations, answers and debate on the ill fated cancellation. The SR
Organising Committee were quite optimistic that all their outstanding concerns would be
adequately addressed by their colleagues, and thus eagerly travelled the 310 kilometres up to
Lilongwe on Friday 19th August to attend the event.
The Committee arrived in Lilongwe at 19.00 hrs on Friday evening and immediately rushed to
attend a debriefing meeting that had been pre-arranged by members of the SR Committee with the
UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Richard Dictus, in order to ascertain what exactly was the role
of the UN in the deferral of the vigil and how it had come to pass?
Members of the SR Committee were duly apprised by the UN Res Rep, that the UN had become
involved partly due to a coincidence wherein a fact finding mission happened to be in town at the
time when the CSO Main Committee approached the UN for help in resolving a potential disaster
that could occur as a result of the envisaged vigil. Mr Dictus was very quick to mention that the role
of the UN was purely to facilitate a neutral space in which dialogue talks could take place in a
peaceful and constructive manner. The UN was not thus playing a mediatory role as had been
portrayed by the media and this was also why the laborious UN procedures that normally preceded
mediatory interventions had not been required in this case. These explanations partly satisfied the
SR Committee Members, who then retired to their respective accommodations for the night.
The next morning on 20th August, all the CSOs gathered at Lilongwe Hotel for the much anticipated
debriefing, but were soon surprised by the agenda, which allocated two precious hours to topics
such as the Background History and role of CONGOMA and the role of Civil Society in effecting
change on the political terrain. The relevance of the agenda was queried in view of the fact that this

20/10/2011 4
was supposed to be a half day meeting and there were many weighty issues to be discussed, but
the queries failed to make any impact on the conveners/facilitator - this trend continued throughout
the entire meeting where every query, question, objection raised was met with stonewalling. This
extended to the method and criteria used in (s)electing the CSO Dialogue Committee, who would
be mandated to negotiate with Presidential Committee on Dialogue (PCD). A predetermined list of
names was projected onto the wall and passed with minimal alteration – largely due to Malawian
culture and habitual public politeness.
In view of the predominant focus on issues pertaining to economic/political (mis)governance in the
Petition, It was quite obvious that the CSO Dialogue Committee did not possess the depth of
knowledge and expertise on the aforementioned issues that would be required to meet the PCD on
a level field and the Government team would run rings around them, but that observation was
submerged in the wave of collective mindlessness. It was a shocking display of opacity and
manipulation that would normally be expected in a Political Party meeting, but not in a Civil Society
gathering.
The climatic moment arrived when Coordinators for various activities were being (s)elected and IPI
was chosen to be the National Coordinator for the vigil envisaged for 21 st September. This was the
most dangerous task on the list and IPI freely admitted that, much as it had been the base for the
July 20th demo and the ill fated Aug 17 th vigil in the Southern Region, it did not have the capacity to
handle coordination on a national scale in the absence of financial and human resource support.
The IPI Executive Director (ED) further went on to appeal that, in order to have a successful
campaign, it was imperative to identify organisations who had the structural and financial capacity
to handle such coordination as most CSOs were not yet up to the task. This comment was
received disapprovingly by the gathering and the meeting broke up in an acrimonious manner. IPI,
which was accused of 'being too close to opposition political parties and having a different agenda'
firmly resolved, as an institution, to wash its hands of any further involvement in organising such
activities with HRCC & CONGOMA, any future participation would therefore be on a strictly
personal basis.
The above resolution did not however preclude IPI from continuing on its quest for a responsive
government and a small group of like minded people met at IPI on 25 th August to form the Forum
for Defence of Democracy (FDD) as a pressure group, aimed at providing fulcrum between CSOs,
Trade Unions, Political Parties, Academia, Faith Communities and any Citizen, with outstanding
democratic convictions, who was committed to the same ideals and vision espoused by the FDD
(see Appendix A).
Formation of FDD
The FDD formative group began consultations with key stakeholders, to collect input towards the
aims, objectives and strategies, and seeking acceptance by the cross-sectional groupings. The
reception was very encouraging, thereby raising hopes that the FDD would burst on the scene by
mid October with a national coordination network in place. A meeting was subsequently held at IPI
on 30th August to update all members on events that had occurred thus far and a proposal was
tabled to nominate two National Coordinators – one from Civil Society and the other from the
Political Parties. The meeting decided upon Rafiq Hajat (CSO) and Kamlepo Kalua (Politician) as
Joint National Coordinators. Rafiq Hajat was then mandated to introduce the FDD aims & objective
at an HRCC/CONGOMA meeting scheduled to be held in Lilongwe on 3rd September 2011, but not
to commit the FDD to any organisational activities leading up to the national CSO vigil envisaged
for 20th September 2011.
The Terror Campaign - Arson Attacks
This fateful FDD meeting might well have led to the calamity that ensued – because the IPI offices
were torched by arsonists on the night of September 2 nd 2011. The fire, fed by all the archives,
books, furniture and carpets, swept through the the building and gutted it completely – destroying
years of records, information resources and priceless research materials. It was utter wanton
destruction and brought back echoes of the presidential threats to 'smoke you out' – for one cannot
have smoke without fire.

20/10/2011 5
 This incident raised an outcry from Malawian Society, and
warnings from Civil Society that such incidents would
seriously affect the ongoing dialogue with government, but
the International Community, including the UN Res Rep,
Richard Dictus, remained strangely silent in the face of
this blatant usage of terror tactics against Human Rights
Defenders which constituted an incontestable violation of
Human Rights enshrined in the UN Charter. This puzzling
silence continued even when the Presidential
Spokesperson, Heatherwick Ntaba, in an an outrageous
display of sheer mendacity and factual manipulation,
alleged that the fire was self inflicted – ostensibly to
destroy evidence of misappropriation of Donor funds
provided to IPI for pro-gay demonstrations. This message
was then consistently brayed through the public media
until a seed of doubt was sown in the minds of the public.
The IPI Management however, held their peace on the
issue, as is right and proper, until the Police had
completed their investigations and the case heard in court. IPI has now sued Dr. Ntaba for
defamation and slander in order to exonerate itself from the implied stigma.
But the Donor silence had had an effect, for it was (mis)interpreted as a sign of non-concern by the
DPP thugs and they have continued on a rampage of arson and murder with savage intensity. The
home of Reverend Macdonald Sembereka, the National Coordinator of HRCC was petrol bombed
on September 10th, as was the home of Salim Bagus – a prominent opposition politician in
Lilongwe and the Blantyre Flea market on September 18th, but worse was yet to come.
The Terror Campaign - Beatings
Dennis Bisika, the lead organiser of the Vigil in Zomba, was attacked as he was having a late lunch
in the afternoon of 20th September at Ndindeya Motel. A team of 6 DPP Cadets driving a Toyota
Hilux double cab, registration number ZA 9622 (silver in colour), swarmed into the place where
they closed both the main gate and the door to the restaurant. When they faced Bisika, it is
reported that they charged him with being among those critics giving sleepless nights to Bingu and
that they had been sent to teach him a lesson.
As the assailants started to assault Dennis, he managed to escape through another door. The
assailants then went outside to smash his vehicle, but when they saw a big crowd approaching
(reportedly after the bar attendant had mobilised them), they quickly drove away.
Dennis sustained scratches in the legs and arms and strained his left knee after having fallen
during his escape. Fortunately, four of the attackers have been identified as follows:
 Mr. Bamusi - DPP Director for Youth - Eastern Region;
 Phinious - DPP Youth Member;
 Daniel Nanthambwe - DPP Youth Member; and,
 Lawrence Kandiziwa - DPP Youth Member (also reportedly Assistant to Hon Yunus Mussa);
It is also reported that the car they were driving in belongs to Hon Yunus Mussa (2 nd Vice President
of the DPP).
The matter was duly reported to the Police where he was given a letter for him to access treatment
at the hospital. However, the role of the Police in the whole process seems suspect to the extent
that people are speculating that they might have been aware beforehand about this attack.
Firstly, it is reported that the Zomba Police Spokesperson, Mr. Tomeck Nyaudi came to the scene
towards the end of the attack. Barely a few minutes later, a team of 15 police officers walking on
foot also came on the scene. Finally, before the matter was even reported, one CID officer had

20/10/2011 6
already started interrogating Ndindeya personnel about the incident. Indeed, it is rather unusual
that the 15 police officers were not a Rapid Response Unit, which ordinarily would have used a
vehicle for transportation and further, in view of capacity and resource limitations, it is highly
unusual to see 15 police officers rushing to a crime scene together. This aroused speculation that
they might have been pre-informed about the attack and hence decided to be within reach to come
as soon as the mission was accomplished.
The Terror Campaign - Murder
The terrible month went from bad to worse when, on Saturday 24 th September 2011, a Polytechnic
student was found dead at the campus with his head almost split in two according to eye
witnesses. The death of the student, Robert Chasowa, who was in fourth year Engineering, was
deemed suspicious by the students at the campus, as he had been very critical of President Bingu
Wa Mutharika and was also apparently being hunted by the CID.
It is reported that the Police had come to the campus looking for him for his role in the Anti-
Mutharika grouping, Youth for Democracy & Freedom, which releases the weekly ”Political
Update”. The publication minces no words in condemning Mutharika’s dictatorship. In one of its
publications, the YFD published details of DPP's sinister doings, including the names of the
arsonists (led by DPP Governor Masangwi & DPP Cadet Leader Ngalande) who had allegedly
petrol bombed IPI's offices.
The death of the student came just days after Police raided the home of 21 year old Black Moses,
President of YDF, whisking him away to an unknown location where he was apparently being
questioned over a one-page prose that used critical language against Mutharika’s authoritarian
rule. Black Moses is now apparently incarcerated at Chichiri prison and efforts are being made to
find out what charges he faces.
According to eye-witnesses, the student may have looked like
he was thrown approx. 8-15 metres off a tall building but: "its a
murder, he never jumped, because no part of his body bones
has been broken. He is a political victim….because he has
been a staunch critic of Mutharika via the Youth for Freedom
and Democracy (YFD)in which he was the Vice President,” said
one eye witness who refused to be named.
Students at the campus, were not fully aware of the incident at
the time of writing this article, but there strong indications of a
major misunderstanding between the Police and students, as
anger brewed among students waking up to the news. Students at the college and the Police have
crossed paths in recent months, and the news of the student being found mysteriously dead
certainly exacerbated the tension even further. There was no immediate comment from the Police
but it is understood that investigations are underway trying to establish the cause of the death.
Sunday, 25th September 2011 - Unknown assailants attacked two human rights activists at
approximately 8.00pm, leaving one “heavily wounded”, according to lawyer Wapona Kita who, in
his initial alert posted on social networking site Facebook, wrote: “Peter Chinoko of CCJP LL being
attacked at his home by over 20 thugs now. SOS pls!” He followed that up with this update: "Am
told after failing to break into Peter Chinoko's house, they went to the next by neighbour, Mike
Kakatera, another human rights activist, who has been heavily wounded…! Thanks to all guys who
took heed of my FB update, it appears the neighbourhood was alerted by it and they got them
dispersed. Police are at the scene now!" Reports indicate that three assailants were arrested but
there is no further information forthcoming on who they are and the motivation behind the attack.
Peter Chinoko, of the Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace (CCJP), was one of the
organisers of the July 20th Demonstration and September 21st
Vigil.
Wednesday 28th September 2011: - Immigration Authorities
arrested Masauko Kamuzu Banda Jumani, who claims to be the

20/10/2011 7
offspring of Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the first Post Independence president who wielded power
with an iron fist for 30 years as 'Life President; in a single-party authoritarian regime. Jumani was
denied a DNA test that would have proved his parentage and has now been deported back to
Sweden, where he spent most of his life as an adopted child - despite having a Malawi Birth
Certificate and adoption papers issued by the Malawian Courts. This may ostensibly be attributed
to his presence in Malawi attracting too much public attention and posing a potential challenge to
the political elite.
October 4th 2011: The newly appointed Minister for Information, Hon. Patricia Kaliati held a Press
Conference wherein she alleged that Civil Society Leaders, Rafiq Hajat, Undule Mwakasungula,
Billy Banda and the Vice President, Rt, Hon, Joyce Banda were involved in the untimely death of
Robert Chasowa (see above) and urged the Police to 'investigate them thoroughly'. These
malicious, preposterous and unfounded accusations were aimed to further malign their Public
Persona and, more sinister, enable the Police to arrest them without any possibility of bail –
thereby condemning them to suffer the tender mercies of Prison Wardens and hardened criminals
in Gaol for months, if not years, while the case dragged on interminably in the Courts with the
Government using delaying tactics to stretch out the case as much as possible. The persons
named will now live every day in fear of being picked up by the Police anywhere, at any time and
may have to go back into hiding or leave the country to avoid such torture.
Friday 14th October 2011: Four FDD activists, namely; Billy Mayaya, Comfort Chitseko, Ben
Chiza Mkandawire, Brian Nyasulu and Habiba Osman, were detained by the Police for four days
without charge after unfurling a banner at the entrance to the venue where the COMESA Summit
was being held. The banner, amongst other things, called for the following:
 The immediate resignation of the Inspector General of the Police for his alleged
involvement in the Chasowa murder;
 Improved economic and political governance;
 The immediate cessation of evocation of ethnic rivalries and hatred as a tactic being used
by Mutharika to maintain his increasingly tenuous grasp on power;
 A referendum on whether Government still retains the trust and confidence requisite to
govern, as stipulated in S12 of the Constitution;
 The banner also stated that 'Bingu is a Dictator!'
They were subsequently charged with conducting demonstration
without police permission (untrue) and sedition (conduct/speech
inciting people to rebel against state authority) on Tuesday 18 th
October and were granted bail by the Court on Wednesday, 19 th
October 2011. Legal council for the activists, Ralph Kasambara
argued that the charges were malicious and lacked merit in a
democratic Malawi. They were also ordered to report for the
following two weeks on Wednesdays to the Police and a court
hearing was set for November 26th.

Monday, 17th October 2011: Three people were rushed to hospital in the remote town of Mitundu,
some 40 kilometres from the capital, Lilongwe on Monday following unprecedented protests
against growing insecurity in the area.
"Yes, this morning people rioted at Mitundu, they attacked a police unit, we had to send
reinforcements from headquarters,"Lilongwe Police spokesman Kingsley Dandaula told
Maravipost.com in a telephone interview. Dandaula said the police unit was torched and razed to
the ground. At least seven houses occupied by Police Officers were also set alight. He said anti-riot
police used rubber bullets and teargas to contain the situation. "Two people were shot with rubber
bullets, another was seriously injured when he was trampled upon by fellow rioters, we took the

20/10/2011 8
three to Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH)," he said.
The Police publicist dispelled reports that at least four people were shot dead by the Police. KCH
Director Dr. Noor Alide couldn’t be reached, but a KCH telephone operator said "the boss didn't
come to work" due to the Mothers' Day holiday.
Dandaula also stated that 49 people have since been arrested. He further went on to say that all
the Police Officers at the unit have been temporarily evacuated to Police Headquarters together
with their families. "It's no longer safe for them to remain there," he said.
A local resident, Yohane Saizi said in a telephone interview, that that trouble began when a store
owner - identified as Marko Chapola - was attacked and killed by armed robbers on Sunday night.
"His wife was also severely wounded," he said. Saizi said this wasn’t the first time that armed
robbers had attacked and killed their victims with seeming impunity and he accused police of not
doing anything. "We believe officers here have over-stayed and may know these robbers and are
working with them," he said. "We're as good as dead having no Police here."
Dandaula said Police Headquarters was aware of growing insecurity in the area, but denied police
were working in cahoots with the bandits. "We're patrolling the area," he said. "We'll investigate
these robberies."
Mitundu is home to First Lady Callista Mutharika and President Bingu wa Mutharika has recently
purchased yet another farm there.
Fuel Prices Shoot up – amidst growing scarcity. Inadequate justification, MERA Board not in place.

M.P.'s Benefit Increment Proposal

On the 15th November 2011, the people of Malawi were shocked to hear that the members of
Parliament, who had been elected into office by the populace, had just unanimously awarded
themselves a hefty increment of over 500%. However, it later transpired that the M.P.s had merely
adopted a report that had been submitted by a Parliamentary Committee in 2010 but had been
kept on hold due to fears of the public outrage that it would inevitably cause. The details are as
follows:
MK1,004,808.60 Monthly Salary ($6,060 converted @ 165.81) (up from $2,364 )
MK190,000 fuel allowance per month (500 litres)
K100,000 housing allowance, 
K10,000 hospitality allowance.
K60,000 constituency allowance monthly (upped from K35,000)
K175,000 motor vehicle maintenance allowance,
K100,000 utility allowance,
K45,000 office allowance.
MK1,684,808.60 Total Monthly allowances 
Plus
Sitting allowance K5,000 per day
Subsistence allowance proposed at K30,000 per night (from K20,000)
General purpose advance of K3 million (up from K2 million).
Motor vehicle loan K6 million (from K5 million),
So if Parliament is in session for 30 days an M.P. would receive the following:
MK150,000 sitting allowance

20/10/2011 9
MK900,000 subsistence allowance
MK1,050,000
MK1,684,808 Add Monthly Salary
MK2,734,808 Sub total
MK6,000,000 Motor vehicle loan
MK3,000,000 General purpose loan (whatever that means)
MK11,734,808 Total
Therefore 192 MPs would cost the long suffering Malawian Taxpayer, an extra MK2,253,083,136
(MK2.2 billion) before any other recurrent costs are met – a striking example of cavalier disdain for
the plight of the very people that the M.P.s profess to serve.

January 2nd 2012

It appears that the suffering of the people of Malawi was not yet over – far from it. A deadly blow
against popular morale and wellbeing was struck by a Government that appeared to be oblivious of
the carnage it had wrought over the past twelve months. In December, ADMARC – the state owned
('commercialised') monopolistic grain marketing board, had begun rationing Maize to 25kg per
person. Now the injury was added to the insult by raising the price by 50% overnight from US$12
to US$18 for a 50kg bag.
The Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Kingsley Namakhwa attempted to justify it by saying that this
was a precautionary measure against vendors and informal traders who bought the grain from
ADMARC at low prices, only to sell it onwards to local people at higher prices. But he did not
attempt to clarify what would now happen to those Malawians, who were teetering on the brink of
starvation and were too poor to afford the new price.
The signs are ominous indeed – especially when we consider that 10 of 28 districts will be facing
starvation by the end of February. This will certainly add fuel to the fire seething within the
populace.
Vendors battle on the streets on 5th January 2012.
Lilongwe was shaken from the normal hum of daily activity by City Assembly Officers who had,
once again, been ordered to remove the vendors from the streets in the highly congested 'Old
Town' (Area 2). However, the Vendor community had not been given prior notice of this clean up
operation and had set up their stalls as usual - they thus were defiant when the City Officials went
around with closure orders. The City Officials began forcibly evicting Vendors and demolished
their stalls with bulldozers and that's when the
This period (July 2011 to date) will haunt our memories forever because of the atrocities that we
have witnessed – and because we now know that the campaign of terror will not cease until all
opposition and dissent, whether real or perceived, has been inexorably extinguished amidst a
miasmic fog of fear reminiscent of 1964. The only hope left now, is the awakened spirit of the
Malawian populace, which has learnt to speak out and express their discontent against the
implacable wielders of power, will not be stifled but instead swell into an irresistible crescendo that
is impossible for any government to ignore and in so doing, bring about the change that we all
dream about – A Better Malawi For All Malawians!

20/10/2011 10
Viva Mama Malawi – Viva Democracy!!

20/10/2011 11
 FORUM FOR THE DEFENCE OF DEMOCRACY
To secure, strengthen and build a truly pluralist, vibrant, free and equitable society in
Malawi!!!!
Mission Statement
To defend, protect and promote our Democracy.
Aims & Objectives
 Restore the spirit of the National Referendum of 14th June 1993;
 Revive the culture of Constitutionalism;
 Uphold the Rule of Law;
 Ensure Good Governance through securing governmental accountability and
responsiveness;
 Promote national dignity and harmony;
 Safeguard Media Freedom;
 Secure access to Right to Information;
Membership
The FDD is open to all democratic individuals, groups, institutions and political parties who share
and practise the avowed aims and objectives.
Strategies
All strategies & actions must be within the confines of the Rule of Law
Motto: Power to the People: A Better Malawi Is Possible!

20/10/2011 12
 The Chasowa List
1. Rafiq Hajat
2. Ken Williams Mhango
3. Unandi Banda
4. Robert Mkwezalamba
5. O Chimwezi
6. H. O. Phoya
7. K. Kazembe
8. H. Mkandawire

20/10/2011 13