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On Malawi
It was a British colony from about 1893 to 1964, and it was called Nyasaland. During this period,
Christian missionaries established churches and schools and, in some cases, hospitals in the country.
Malawi also has a Muslim population, about 10% of the total population. Islam came through trade
and cultural contacts with the East African coast. The country became independent in 1964 and a
republic in 1966 under the leadership of Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda and his Malawi Congress Party.
Dr Banda ruled Malawi as a one-party dictatorship until 1994. Following massive protests from
Malawians and pressure from the international community, Banda agreed to hold a national referendum
on the one party-state in 1993, in which Malawians voted overwhelmingly for multiparty democracy.
The following year, multiparty elections were held and Banda lost to Bakili Muluzi and his United Democratic Front (UDF). The
election of Muluzi was particularly significant for the fact, although Malawi is predominantly Christian, Muluzi who is a Muslim
won, suggesting that religion was not a major factor in Malawian politics.
Muluzi run the country until 2004 when he stepped down after unsuccessfully
trying to change the constitution so that he could run for an extra term. His
attempt to change the constitution was opposed strongly by Malawians and
the international community. He handpicked Dr Bingu wa Mutharika to
succeed him and the latter won the 2004 elections, but soon Mutharika
fell out with his predecessor and then formed his own party, the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He won the second term in 2009,
but died in office in 2012 and was succeeded by the Vice-President,
Mrs Joyce Banda, who is the current President of Malawi. She is
the first Malawian woman President and second woman President
in Africa. As Mutharika had expelled her from his party, she
ascended to the presidency as leader of her own party, the People’s Party
(PP) rather than that of the deceased President, which complicated matters greatly initially.
Maanso 1 Mpalive Msiska TROPICS
Mpalive Msiska
TROPICS
Poems
2014
Maanso 1
Despite some tension, the transition from Mutharika to Banda was peaceful. The next general elections
will be in May 2014 and the contest for the Presidency is quite stiff. Although, there are still major
economic, social and even political problems in the country, Malawi seems to have managed to sustain
its multiparty democracy for almost twenty years now. It is largely a peaceful country which is also
home to Africans from other countries, such as Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo,
Nigeria and Zimbabwe, among others.
REDSEA-ONLINE.COM
Written by Mpalive-Hangson Msiska
In 2015, Nigeria will be the Hargeysa International Book Fair Guest Country of the Year!
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