The problem is bigger than Kyungu

Paramount Chief Kyungu of Karonga and Chitipa is an educated man, a former civil servant and lately one of the many traditional leaders who have handed over their senses to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government.

From as far back as 2010, during the time of president Bingu wa Mutharika, Kyungu’s black safari suit has been a common feature each time traditional leaders have supposedly been called upon to speak for Malawians.

Kyungu’s tall frame was present at the unveiling of the flag with the white rising sun as he was ever present at consultations where he and others unanimously agreed that Malawi had developed beyond recognition.

In his excellent grasp of the Queen’s language, Kyungu has been the go-to-traditional leader for those occasions which required someone.  This week, the gift of a stadium worth K610 million, was enough for Kyungu to point out the blindness of the majority of Malawians to the wonderful development that is happening under “the dynamic leadership of the DPP.”

Kyungu told CSOs in the country to stop attacking Mutharika’s government and start providing solutions to the country’s problems. He did not stop at merely meting out this unsolicited advice but went on to describe detractors of the government as fools.

When it comes to politics, Kyungu truly believes in that false analogy that in supporting the government, it can never do wrong in the eyes of the chiefs. It is Kyungu’s and such likeminded chiefs who will support anything the government tells them to, at a cost obviously.

Traditional leaders have become every government’s mercenary for hire, those individuals who for the price of a posting to a board will do the government’s dirty work. As Kyungu was there telling us the ugly new flag was beautiful after all and symbolised the development that we had undergone, he was there again at Parliament Building in Lilongwe claiming that the Electoral Reforms Bills were evil and people were not consulted. For all his perceived faults, at least Kyungu is consistent.

The same loyalty that he extended to Bingu he continued with president Joyce Banda. In 2016, he angered some civil society organisations (CSOs) when he made similar remarks.  It has been Kyungu’s consistent view that the government, of whichever day, does not deserve criticism.

Instead, those who criticise should direct their energy to providing solutions to the country’s problems. That consistency, by the way, has earned him enviable positions at parastatal boards from before Joyce Banda elevated him to Paramount Chief of the Ngondes.

In a way, it is not Kyungu’s fault that he feels the need to align himself to political masters not the people that he represents.  The god-like reverence that the nation holds people like Kyungu have turned them into the people that they are, that they can never do wrong and whatever they say holds.

The power given to a president to elevate chiefs is what has gone to their heads making them believe without a president and ruling party they cease to exist. Every successive government has made sure that traditional leaders hold positions that give them power that they do not deserve: From leading Village Development Committees to chairing Area Development Committees.

We have made traditional leaders to be mini dictatorial rulers, made worse with legislation such as the Local Courts Act. Instead of casting aspersions at Kyungu and every other traditional leader for hire, the blame should go to those that reward such stupidity.

The era of traditional leaders that stood for the people, at the point of death no less, went with the original Gomani, Katumbi and Mmbelwa. The likes of Kyungu and by extension Lundu and others are in it for the money and every word that comes out of their mouth has kwachas or a board chairmanship attached to it.