Joyah documents Malawi’s political landscape
Driven by the zeal to record Malawi’s history, filmmaker Charles Shemu Joyah is working on a documentary on the recent political events in the country.
Key events to be depicted in the documentary include demonstrations that persistently took place in the streets of Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu and other areas.
In an interview, Joyah said: “Several historical moments have passed by and have not been properly documented.
“This documentary will capture events from 2018 leading up to the 2019 elections,” he said.
Joyah said the documentary will depict the elections, subsequent protests, the court case to have the presidential election annulled, the annulment, the June 23 2020 presidential election and the swearing-in of the new President.
“Though most of us were alive during the time of the change to multiparty democracy starting from 1992, we really do not know what actually happened behind the scenes,” he said.
Joyah said most of the Catholic Bishops who wrote the defining Pastoral Letter have died without hearing their side of the story.
“When you look at personalities such as Chakufwa Chihana, there are still some disputes as to what actually happened in Zambia and how Aford and UDF as parties were formed,” he said.
Joyah said the documentary will include as many ordinary Malawians as possible and not just politicians.
“A lot of Malawians sacrificed a lot during the demonstrations. We want to have their voices heard,” Joyah said.
Videographer, Robert Mbetewa sees the project as an opportunity for Malawi to tell its story to the world.
He said: “It is a great opportunity for reflection. People will see certain things that they didn’t know happened.”
Joyah said he plans to start the pre-production process this month as he plans to release the documentary mid next year.
