Mutharika will not apologise to Sata,lifts entry ban
By Wanga Gwede, Nyasa Times
September 29, 2011
Malawi government is adamant that President Bingu wa Mutharika will not offer public apology to Zambia’s newly-elected president Michael Sata for what happened in 2007 when Lilongwe declared him a prohibited immigrant.
Sata has demanded an apology for the humiliation he suffered when he was arrested at Chileka international Airport in Blantyre 15 March, 2007 on orders from President Mutharika when he flew into Malawi to hold talks with former president Bakili Muluzi.
According to his Malawian lawyer Ralph Kasambara, no reasons were given for his arrest but he was detained for several hours at Blantyre Police Station, where he was declared Persona Non Grata (PNG) or Prohibited Immigrant (PI) and then bundled in a police vehicle, driven 500 kilometres to be dumped at Chipata on the Malawi-Zambia border.
Sata: Demands apology
Sata sued Malawi government for defamation and wrongful detention.
But government spokesperson Patricia Kaliati said Lilongwe will not issue an apology because the status and circumstances in which Sata was expelled from Malawi and his current position of head of state are different.
“Sata is His Excellency the President now he was a private citizen in 2007. What happen then had nothing to do with Zambia,” said Kaliati.
She said Lilongwe will have talks with Lusaka on any diplomatic misunderstandings.
Kaliati also clarified that Sata is allowed to visit Malawi and will be treated as a VVIP and not as a prohibited immigrant in Malawi because of his current status as head of state and government.
Her comments were also underscored by presidential spokesperson Hetherwick Ntaba who explained that according to international protocol, a head of State cannot be a prohibited immigrant in a country.
“Therefore, any pre-existing status in Malawi-Zambia or anywhere that contradicts President Sata’s present status as Head of State automatically falls off de fact or otherwise,” said Ntaba in a statement.
“Under such circumstances, the fear of immigration embarrassment in Malawi for President Sata cannot arise in international diplomacy.”
Kasambara disclosed this week that President Sata would not be coming to Malawi to attend Comesa summit for Heads of State from October 14 because he of the deportation he faced in 2007 as his case is yet to be determined by Justice Healy Potani.
Malawi has never disclosed the reasons why it deported Sata.
Under Mutharika leadership, Malawi has strained ties with neighbouring Mozambique and downgrading dipolamtic relations with Zambia would be regrettable to the country which has enjoyed cordial relations with other states since independence 47 years ago.
Labels: ATUPELE MULUZI, BAKILI MULUZI, MICHAEL SATA, PATRICIA KALIATI
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Atupele sets tone for Malawi’s ‘agenda for change’
By Nyasa Times Reporter
September 29, 2011
Son of former Malawi President Bakili Muluzi, Atupele, says there was need to pursue political party reforms to allow for freedom of exchange of ideas, transparent election of leaders and responsiveness to party membership.
Speaking on Thursday at Sunbird Mouth Soche Hotel in Blantyre where he announced his presidential bid for the 2014 general elections, the Machinga North East parliamentarian said that Malawians should avoid “worshipping big men” and putting leaders above the people as that result in lives and freedoms of citizens being compromised.
“It is about respect for our party constitutions, which must not be optional but a requirement,” said the youthful conviction politics.
Atupele: Delivering his speech
“There is also a need to give room to new talent. That does not mean, however, that it is just about new faces and more of the same. No, what we need is a whole new way of thinking and a different mindset altogether,” young Muluzi said.
He said debate must not be stifled from within the political parties because that is the only way “we can bring about innovation and new ideas”.
“We must not be rigid or resist change,” he said attracting applause.
“Above all our party membership must be given opportunities to choose leaders of their choice through free and fair elections. That is what a democracy is all about,” he said, adding that he believed Malawi was at a crossroads of change and that it needed credible transformational leaders who will deliver a clear vision, values and aspirations of its people.
“Many Malawians have asked me not only to be part of the ‘Change Team’ but lead it. It is for this reason that today, I humbly accept your call to put up my name for nomination as presidential aspirant in 2014 general elections,” he said to a deafening applause.
He said the power to elect a presidential candidate for the UDF rests in the hands of the people through a free and fair election at the convention.
“I stand on the platform of change, new ideas, new thinking and I intend to meet as many ordinary Malawians as possible over the next few years in order to find out from them what most they care about and would like to see changed. This will always remain an on-going process if you place your trust in me,” Atupele said, adding “together we can do it and together we are agents of that change that we all yearn for”.
He said that if Malawians were serious about changing the Malawi political landscape, “we must start from our political parties”.
“That process begins by promoting women and the youth. We need to intensify efforts and actions to redress the existing persistent gender disparities, which hamper their full participation in our society,” Atupele said.
He said young people need to be inspired by giving them the confidence to challenge what they see and to dream great things, and empower them to influence their own lives and their future.
“The purpose of this gathering today is to embark on my quest to contribute to a historic conversation about leadership and its role in spearheading transformational change in Malawi,” the young Muluzi said to a defeating applause from guests that filled Njamba Room to capacity.
He also said it was not acceptable that a few individuals in Malawi should decide Malawians’ fate without listening to the people’s voice and that as a politician and a Malawian; he would not sit back and watch while things “go bad” in Malawi.
He said Malawi is a country where diverse ethnic groups, different religious groups and vibrant cultures have lived in harmony in pursuit of a secure and prosperous nation at ease with itself.
Members of the clergy, Malawi Watch executive director Billy Banda and other civil society leaders, UDF MPs including ex-foreign minister Lillian Patel, former Attorney General Peter Fachi, Atupele’s wife Angella, Dr Kholiwe Mkandawire were among the people that attended the “public discussion” under the banner, “Atupele Muluzi—New Agenda for Change”.
Labels: ATUPELE MULUZI
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Malawi needs more than ‘fresh generation of leaders’
By Nyasa Times
Published: November 17, 2010
Africa is a home to some of the oldest leaders in the world, from Robert Mugabe in the South to Hosni Mubarak in the North. Malawi is among this flock of ageing rulers. Its leader, Bingu wa Mutharika is 76 years old and the country’s opposition leader, John Tembo is 78 years old. These two leaders belong to minority group of over 65 year olds that comprise only five percent of the nation’s estimated 14 million inhabitants.
John Tembo has made it clear that he intends to run for the presidency in 2014 – he will be 82. And there are high chances that his main competitor will be Mutharika’s younger brother, Peter – he will be 74 years old. There has been some discomfort about the ageing leadership among younger Malawians for some time. Tom Likambale, a Malawian political commentator, thinks that the best way of taming the situation is to encourage new generation of political leaders. Likambale has published an online a ‘petition’ entitled “Seeking a Change Agenda for Malawi via a Fresh Generation of Leaders.”
The ‘petition’ is, however, not an open invitation to all young Malawian politicians; it is an ‘urge’ to Atupele Muluzi – a 32 years old parliamentarian and a son of Malawi’s former president, Bakili Muluzi. Likambale wants Atupele to consider running for the presidency in 2014. His reasons for the choice of Atupele include the fact he is young, of course. But also, using the pronoun “we”, Likambale says Atupele understands the tenets of democracy, and that he is experienced enough for the job. He has a point – Atupele would be more experienced in 2014 than Barak Obama and David Cameron were when they assumed leadership of their respective countries.
Atupele Austin Muluzi
The ‘petition’, though no doubt well intentioned, is a very good example of what is wrong with Malawian democracy: there is too much emphasis on the individual. Leaders are not chosen on the strength or weakness of their policies at both national and party levels. It is who you are, how much money you have, and what political party(s) sponsors you that gets people elected.
Obama and Cameron may have spent less time in the political chambers of their respective countries than Atupele, come 2014, but then Obama and Cameron had policies. They individually stood up, presented their policies and the electorate elected them based on their policies. Electorates of these two countries rightly expect their leaders to fullfill their electoral pledges. This has never been the case in Malawi and this ‘petition’ is proposing a repetition of the status quo.
Getting rid of the ageing leadership is definitely a forwarding thinking idea, Likambale deserves kudos for starting the debate. But what is needed is to encourage a politics where elections will be won or lost over policy issues, not glorification of individuals – young or old. If age is the most pertinent issue affecting our democracy (and there is no evidence on this) why not campaign for a presidential retirement age? History reminds us that Atupele’s father, Bakili Muluzi, was 51 years old when he came to power. He did his ten years, via re-election, then hand-picked and campaigned tirelessly for 71 years old Bingu wa Mutharika for presidency. This was clearly undemocratic – United Democratic Front (UDF) members did not chose Mutharika, Bakili did. Bakili had become too popular that his followers could not question his decision. This is what personalising politics can do.
You can fool some people sometimes, but you cannot fool all the people all the times, so they say. Sure, a few people within the party disagreed with Muluzi’s undemocratic act, most notably the late Aleke Banda and Justine Malewezi, who both deserted the UDF. Ironically, the late Banda and Malewezi are today held in very high esteem by many Malawians.
The departure of these two members and Mutharika’s candidature marked the beginning of the fall of the UDF. Today the party is only a shadow of the giant it once was. I am not trying to compare Atupele with his father; they are very different characters, the intervening years have shown that. The point is, if Malawi is to catch-up with the international community on how it conducts its politics, as the ‘petition’ wishes, then Atupele must come forward with his policies, win the confidence and endorsement of his party’s members and present himself as the 2014 presidential candidate. Being young is a good attribute but this alone is not enough. After all, there are a lot of young Malawians that will be 36 years old in 2014.Why Atupele? His polices must answer to this.
Such a process would give any aspirant a foundation to build on. It would also tremendously improve one’s chance of winning elections. This would not only be beneficial to individuals, but the country as well. It would also help make leaders more accountable to the electorate. This is unlikely to be the case when one is being elevated as charismatic and the only one, without necessarily having to prove it. Sociologist Max Weber warned of the dangers of having charismatic leaders. He noticed that charismatic leaders are difficult, if not impossible to succeed. They are unpredictable and they tend to become autocrats. True to this word, UDF has not truly replaced Bakili, as a leader. On the other hand, Bakili’s handpicked successor, Mutharika is increasingly becoming autocratic, as the ‘petition’ and the recent Catholic Bishop’s Letter would attest.
PLEASE NOTE: I have used names Bakili and Atupele not Muluzi to avoid confusion, as they are father and son.
*The author Jimmy Kainja allowed Nyasa Times to use this article posted on his website : http://jimmykainja.co.uk/
Labels: ATUPELE MULUZI, BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, LEADERSHIP
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