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It’s time Muluzi belonged to us all
Honourable Folks, I guess I underestimated the significance of media reports on the request former President Bakili Muluzi reportedly got from fellow former Sadc Heads of State that he should quit active partisan politics to effectively serve his country, the region, the continent and indeed the rest of the world as a member of their newly-formed elite grouping called Africa Forum.
Not after January 18 when UDF secretary general Kennedy Makwangwala angrily reacted in a press statement, describing the reports as “false, untrue and malicious, calculated at distablising the United Democratic Front (UDF) so that the followers believe that the party is without Dr. Muluzi, and this would in turn create perceptions of a leadership vacuum”.
Can something be false and true at the same time? Or do the words “false” and “untrue” have different meanings? Never mind, angry people like saying the same thing differently when their adrenaline levels rise above normal. Mr. Makwangwala was not only personally angry but was also trying hard to be angry on behalf of other party diehards. I wonder if there was any anger left for UDF spokesperson Sam Mpasu who spins for Muluzi as well.
UDF and the rest of the Malawi nation should heave a sigh of relief if indeed the no-nonsense Nelson Mandela and other former African leaders with a burning desire to make democracy work in Africa spared Muluzi the verbal whacking for wanting to associate with them when certain things he did while serving as president and certain things he continues to do now, put to question his democratic credentials. Shouldn’t we put Muluzi and former Zambian leaders Fredrick Chiluba in the same category? At least, Chiluba did not attend the Africa Forum, whether by design or coincidence.
Without belabouring the issue of credentials, Makwangwala does not need convincing that by joining Africa Forum, Muluzi has volunteered to associate with colleagues who believe they have something to contribute at a political platform, much larger than a political party. Africa Forum requires of its members to use their experience in government and their “moral authority” as leaders who rose to and descended from power democratically to serve the cause of peace, political stability and democracy in their home countries and in other parts of our troubled continent.
Whatever can be said about Muluzi’s role in bringing peace to the continent, here at his home, where charity must begin, the picture isn’t rosy. He descended from the office of the State President to the office of national chair for UDF where he actively indulges in partisan politics.
The Hon. Justin Malewezi and the Hon. Chakufwa Chihana made a similar mistake. Malewezi contested as an MP for his constituency after serving for almost a decade as Vice-President. Likewise, Chihana contested for the Rumphi Central seat after serving as Second Vice-President. This they did despite that the law does not allow a retired president or deputy president to get retirement benefits if they get another salaried job in the public sector. One legal expert who helped frame our Constitution said the legal bar was deliberately put in the statutes to ensure retired presidents are there for all of us, the people who elected them and who pay their hefty retirement packages.
In the case of Muluzi, we have seen what serving partisan interests of UDF has brought onto the local political scene. UDF’s interests collided with government’s which in turn posed a major threat to the national interests of unity, peace and tranquillity. On a personal note, partisan politics made Muluzi clash with his chosen successor, President Bingu wa Mutharika. Today, the President talks about tit-for-tat while Muluzi talks about deflating the tube he, himself, inflated.
The rest of us continue to get a raw deal from the multiparty system of government which we overwhelmingly voted for in the historic referendum of 1993. He also got hurt when the rivalry brought so much chaos in Parliament that resulted in the death Hon. Rodwell Munyenyembe—probably the most competent Speaker multiparty Malawi ever had collapsing and dying of heart attack.
Definitely, Muluzi cannot continue to serve in UDF in the manner he has been doing and, at the same time, be a catalyst for peace and stability as required by the Africa Forum. This is not to say he should quit UDF. No. The celebrated Mandela is still a member of the ANC. Kamuzu Banda belonged to MCP until his death yet there came a time when he announced his retirement from partisan politics and let Gwanda Chakuamba and others run the party.
That made it a lot easier for us all to relate with him as “Father and Founder.” I guess it also eased the relations between Kamuzu and his successor. Mutual respect replaced the rivalry and insults that characterised campaign in the run up to the 1994 general elections and when Kamuzu finally died, he was accorded a state funeral and all of us a nation mourned.
The ex-Sadc leaders may not have emphasised on Muluzi quitting UDF but we are all aware that prior to the Maputo meeting, they tried to defuse tension between Muluzi and MCP president John Tembo on the one hand, and Mutharika on the other. By accepting to join Africa Forum, Muluzi has made a commitment to stop fighting a democratically elected government that succeeded his own regime. Instead, he is there to help.
Doing the opposite will make Africa Forum look like a front from where the former leaders want to continue ruling from their retirement homes. Makwangwala and others have no choice but to let Muluzi belong to us all and prepare for someone else to chair the UDF.–– Feedback: backbencher2005@yahoo.com
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