19-year- old prayer for peace

Friday marks 19 years since Malawians voted for the first president following the triumph of democracy over dictatorship in 1993. Are Malawians more united in their political diversity? JAMES CHAVULA writes:

Gone! A year without Bingu

On August 1 1915, Patrick Pearse, commander general of the Irish Republic brotherhood and member of the revolutionary society, addressed people of his country at the funeral of O’Donovan Rosa, a youthful man and revolutionary pantheon who inspired his generation to pick up the baton in the cause of freedom against British dominance in Ireland.

Political mudslinging for democracy?

President Joyce Banda and ruling People’s Party (PP) outspoken vice-president Uladi Mussa have held key positions in the country’s politics since the restoration of multiparty politics in 1993. JAMES CHAVULA looks at some of their speeches and assesses their suitability in a democratic Malawi.

On DPP’s violence

Perhaps they had a plan. On the first day—the day Peter Mutharika handed himself to Southern Region Police Headquarters—the plan reflected itself in the careful and well-organised disorder Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters invoked at the police Station.

MBC: Public or party broadcaster?

With the World Press Freedom Day on Friday, is there any change to rejoice about Joyce Banda’s handling of MBC, which denied her a voice while giving DPP executives a midnight chance to delay her rise to presidency and conceal her predecessor Bingu wa Mutharika’s death last year? JAMES CHAVULAwrites.

How do they survive?

At the fall of one-party politics in Malawi, multiparty democracy took over. Since then, three presidents Bakili Muluzi, Bingu wa Mutharika and now Joyce Banda have ruled this country in successive manner.

Lessons from Kenya

Two weeks ago, youthful Uhuru Kenyatta took the oath of office as the third president of Kenya after a paper-thin victory in a fresh test of democracy in the East Africa’s largest economy.

Why coalitions fail in Malawi

As 2014 draws close, political parties in Malawi will begin courting one another for possible coalitions. But as history shows, though such marriages bear fruits elsewhere, in Malawi they have not. What is the problem? Ephraim Nyondo finds out.

Gone! A year without Bingu (Part II)

I was naïve and somewhat insensitive to the culture of not differing with a head of State, such that I was often cautioned by some politicians and public officers who strongly believed that a president is always right. I saw him as a person with a huge responsibility, while others thought he was just a rank below God. He was not. He got so many lies from people against other people but never acted without thorough investigations and warning those he found to have erred. He often urged such people to remain focused if they want to reach their destiny.

Trial of Malawi’s leadership

The sun of Joyce Banda’s economic policies appears to be setting at noon.

And as twilight falls, a feeling of despair has gripped the spirit of John Likonda—a carpenter from Mbayani Township in Malawi’s commercial city, Blantyre—who, in the past five months, has seen a steady slip of his business from his hands.