Am I joining politics?

Sometime in the last week of December 2016, I met a friend who I had not seen for a long time. I was able to find out where he was at and what he was doing with his life. I was glad I met him and now hope that both of us are alive this year. I do not know how much longer either or both of us will be around. But I was glad I met him in Lilongwe last December.

When we met, my friend asked me when I was going to be involved in politics. This was not a straightforward or clear question to me. I answered back that most of us, humans, are involved in politics anyway. I am already involved in politics and he was involved in politics, I challenged him. Sensing that he was about to protest because I imagined he sees himself as upright and incorruptible, he doesn’t see himself as someone involved in politics.

“Do you mean party politics?”

I gave him an opportunity to clarify his thoughts. So he jumped on the bait and said yes. “When are you starting your own political party?” he asked me.

Interesting question was it not? There are already too many political parties for our small country. We are a country where we can estimate that each 400 000 people have their own political party. And come the 2019 General Elections, there will be more political parties to be formed—political parties which do not field parliamentary candidates, political parties that just have a presidential candidate and no one else, and political parties that get only one vote or none at all from certain constituencies.

My friend was interested to know when I was going to form my own political party. I asked back by asking why he was thinking that I could form a party? Was he himself planning to form a political party?

“Well,” he said, “since you work in the same organisation with Prof John Chisi, I was thinking that once he formed his party, you would be the next one.”

Ladies and gentlemen, it is true, Prof Chisi and I work in the same organisation. It is also true that he is my senior at work. It is also true that he has his own political party, Umodzi. But does that mean since he has a political party, then I should also form mine? Chisi does not work with me alone. There are 200 other people who work with him. Should we be expecting 200 political parties from our work place? After all, Prof Chisi’s workmates must form their own political parties?

I am sure many people are interested in the infamous Admarc Maizegate. You hear people talk about this today and talk about it the next day and on and on. I am not interested in the issue at all. It is just too painful for me to start thinking about it. To me, the Admarc issue is like a nightmare I would want forgotten. For now, I am not talking about it. It is painful coming not long after Cashgate. n