#Malawi might be a country you haven't heard of or can't locate on a map but it surely does have strong, independent institutions! +1!

I have provided social & political commentary on #Malawi for the past 18 years.

In all these years, the only constant has been the resolve of Malawians (at various intervals) to rise up and defend institutions of Democracy. These institutions, at critical moments, have listened.

In the midst of poverty, lack of imagination, endless circuses, games of cards, hope for a better #Malawi has persisted. It is hope found in the young fishermen on the lakeshore; the hope of young women creatives who continue to create - to do. The hope of young Patriots.

It is with this hope, that I began asking myself how I could contribute to the 'development' of #Malawi, I country I grew up hearing and learning about during my father's time in exile.

When he could finally go back, in 1994, it was out of hope for better things to come.

At 10 years young, I couldn't quite grasp what had actually happened in the transition to Democracy. I also didn't quite appreciate the brutal dictatorship of Kamuzu Banda, and the ambivalence it had generated.

But there was something in the air, and it was FREEDOM.

Between 1994-2000 I made it a point to spend at one of my school holidays in #Malawi. Thanks to my sister, Linda, all this was possible. So the bus ride would occur in these phases:

Mutare-->Harare-->Nyamapanda-->Cuchamano-->Tete-->Zobue-->Mwanza-->Lilongwe and later, Blantyre.

It is during this time that I really fell in love with #Malawi, even though it hadn't quite been home for me. I also learnt a lot - about Kamuzu Banda, about Bakili Muluzi (then president) and overall about politics.

Again, there was a lot of hope prevailing, from what I saw.

Linda, as fate would have it, was part of the team/taskforce that had been tasked with developing a Vision2020 for Malawi.

I recall a few of the conversations we had about this; what was being said, the ideas that were being articulated etc. Again, hope...

It was really around the time of the 'Third Term' debate (Bakili Muluzi's attempt at staying in power) that I really became engaged, and started writing consistently, about #Malawi.

Starting from about 1999 & eventually collapsing in 2002, Muluzi's attempt was an early test.

A freedom so young (5years) was facing a significant test; the president didn't want to leave, even as it was clear he was going to enjoy 2 full terms in power. He wanted more.

Yet, what he wanted for himself, the institutions in #Malawi did not want for the country.

Throughout the whole 'debate' the country was pushed to limits. Still, I didn't quite appreciate what was at stake. I was 16 in 2000; 18 when Muluzi's bid collapsed.

I remember some of the news headlines & sadly, I also remember the violence, as the nation turned on itself.

The country was basically divided into two camps:

1) "Ayimanso" (he will stand again);
2) "Sayimanso" (he won't stand again).

It was a battle fought in the courts, parliament and the streets.

With the backing of State power, the Ayimanso camp unleashed violence with impunity.

I remember seeing, in Limbe (just outside Blantyre) a truckload full of young United Democratic Front (UDF) supporters stop to harass equally young citizens who had defiantly screamed, as the truck drove past, "Sayimanso".

Machetes. Sticks. Stones. Blood on the streets...Why?

Muluzi didn't care, of course. An orator of note, charismatic and witty, he is - perhaps - the functional equivalent of Chief Nanga in Chinua Achebe's 'A Man of the People'.

Hence, he pushed and pushed for an unconstitutional 3rd term in office but the institutions held out.

But this 3rd term debacle was a sign of things to come. While it revealed the strength of institutions in #Malawi, it also revealed just how vulnerable & open to capture they were - as long as Malawians were not interested in defending such institutions.

Lessons.

"Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it," says Frantz Fanon.

He is correct.

We had the generation that stood against colonialism, and won. The one that stood against Kamuzu and won, with many paying with their lives.

"Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it."

We also have those who stood against Muluzi's 3rd Term bid, and won. History will write the names of judges, lawyers and political scientists etc. It must not forget THE PEOPLE.

When Bakili Muluzi brought Bingu wa Mutharika to 'replace' him as the UDF's leader in the 2004 general elections, he flouted all the rules of his party. Despite some resistance, he still managed to have his way and imposed Bingu.

The 2004 election was, again, a test for Malawi.

In short, Muluzi remained Chairman of the UDF while Bingu became Head of State, but without control of the party that had sponsored him into power. It was never going to work.

But Muluzi still thought he could have his 3rd Term, via the backdoor. Bingu wouldn't let him.

But on the day of Bingu's inauguration in 2004, something happened. Riots broke out in Blantyre as People protested the election results, and Mutharika's victory.

In the ensuing chaos, 9-year old Epiphania Bonjesi was shot dead by Malawi Police. She was sitting on the verandah.

It is in the killing of young Epiphania that it dawned on me that #Malawi was not prepared to care for, and reward its young people. Thanks to the reporters who pursued the story, some form of accountability was demanded.

But the damage had been done. Epiphania is gone, forever.

The politicians were in it for themselves. In his 10 years in power, Muluzi amassed so much wealth - cash, properties, land, cars (Range Rovers, Bentleys etc.) and he basically pissed on the poor. He didn't care, as long as he could buy support, often for as little as MWK50.

Bingu didn't the same. After he dumped the UDF, he formed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), managing to win elections by a landslide in 2009. Perhaps it was this victory that gave him a god-complex.

But he too, like Kamuzu and Muluzi before him, was resisted.

Taking advantage of the State's monopoly on violence, & activating the apparatus he had inherited from the UDF, Bingu repeatedly threatened activists who demanded accountability from his government.

He didn't listen.

When in July 2011 Malawians took to the streets to demand political & economic reforms, Mutharika's government responded with more violence, killing at least 21 people in the process.

He couldn't be bothered to express remorse, let alone address the issues afflicting Malawians.

In less than a year, Bingu would succumb to a heart attack. Like Muluzi before him, his way of resolving succession in the DPP (and the presidency, logically) was to impose his own brother, Peter.

Even though this move was met with some internal resistance, Bingu had his way.

The debacle surrounding Bingu's death and attempts by his brother, Peter, to illegally assume power is well-documented.

Save to say, it was again #Malawi's institutions of Democracy that stood firm and protected the integrity of our democratic aspirations as a nation.

So in the aftermath of Bingu's death and all the drama, Joyce Banda became Malawi's first-ever woman president, only the 2nd in #Africa after Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson. It was a historic and proud moment for a country not known for much positive news.

Yet in only 2 years, Banda's presidency unravelled. There is much to still investigate as causing the failure to win an election as an incumbent - time, resources and a strong political base, among other factors.

But she too, like Bakili & Bingu before her, made mistakes...

When it became clear that she was not going to win the 2014 elections, Joyce Banda issued a directive and called a radio station to announce she had nullified the election.

What then transpired will need more in-depth historical reflection. #Malawi was, yet again, on the brink.

But once again, institutions of Democracy stood firm & protected the integrity of our collective aspirations for democracy.

This isn't to say they were not threatened, or that they didn't come under attack. They did, fiercely so. But they managed to hold and resist the attacks.

And who was there in defence of these institutions? The PEOPLE.

Fast forward to 2019. Another election year.

Again, the story of the 2019 elections in #Malawi is well-documented, thanks to a whole lot more access to information and unprecedented interest in the process.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld the view that these elections were null & void. No surprises...

But the Supreme Court outcome seems to have surprised a lot of non-Malawians, especially those across SADC. This is understandable, given how compromised most institutions of Democracy are in some of these countries.

In hailing #Malawi's courts, do not forget THE PEOPLE.

Since May 2019, most Malawians have been in the streets, protesting the vote outcome. They have been shot at by law enforcement, derided by inconvenienced elites, and insulted by president Mutharika. But they didn't give up, standing firm and resolute.

This victory is a victory of the People. But it carries with it several lessons and opportunities for the future of political organising in #Malawi.

It's a long way back to 1994. An even longer way back to 1964, when we became an independent nation. So much time has passed...

Back to Fanon: "Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it."

#Malawi has one of the youngest populations in the world; at least 50% of the population is under 18. It is for them, we must develop plans with tangible results.

The Vision2020 that was worked on the mid-90s ceased being a point of reference as soon as it was submitted. So have many other plans since. This is why we are where we are as nation. But something's gotta give.

It's no longer business as usual in #Malawi. Once again...HOPE.