Four days from today, May 14, will be a holiday in Malawi. This is the day the whole country stops its normal business to observe the day its first president Hastings Kamuzu Banda was born. Like most of our forefathers, Kamuzu’s birth date is not known as there was no birth date documentation then. Kamuzu is believed to have been born in either March or April of 1898 and not in 1906 as he himself often stated. It is on record he later accepted evidence from a researcher suggesting a birth date in March or April 1898.
But not every Malawian president’s birth date is a holiday, or commemorated. So what sets Kamuzu’s birth date apart from the other five presidents? Kamuzu was not just one of the presidents of this country, but he is the founding father of this nation. He played a crucial role in the independence movement mobilising support and articulating a vision for a self-governing nation, and led the country to independence from British rule in 1964. He established a government and fostered a sense of national identity. As Prime Minister and later President, he shaped Malawi’s early years.
Born Akim Kamnkhwala Mtunthama Banda, Kamuzu died on November 25, 1997 aged 99, after serving as the country’s leader from 1964 to 1994.
There are contending views about whether or not Malawi should commemorate Kamuzu Day despite Kamuzu being the founding father of the nation. Those against argue that Kamuzu presided over one of the most repressive regimes in Africa, an era that saw political opponents regularly tortured and jailed without trial. Kamuzu’s haters also cite his cult personality, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) membership cards, the strict censorship rules under his administration, the dress code, and of course, the notorious paramilitary wing of the MCP, used to intimidate and harass the public, the Malawi Young Pioneers. Kamuzu was also criticized for maintaining full diplomatic relations with the apartheid government in South Africa.
Like all other leaders, Kamuzu had his weak and strong sides. But his detractors will usually stop at trumpeting his dark side. They will never tell you his other, brighter side. Save for the issue of human rights and although poverty levels were still high at the time he left office, it is fair to assert that under Kamuzu’s 31-year rule, Malawi witnessed considerable socio-economic transformation in various sectors.
Kamuzu’s boasting in all his speeches that he had transformed Malawi beyond recognition and that at Independence in 1964 he found people in some districts such as Mwanza-Neno and Ntchisi or Vitsanza “literally naked” may be hyperbolic. But beneath the embellishment there is some truth. The education sector witnessed notable change. From not having a single university at independence, the post-colonial Malawi saw the establishment of the University of Malawi (Unima) with four constituent colleges. The country also registered great strides in the health, agriculture, water supply, transport infrastructure, energy sectors, to mention but a few.
For Kamuzu, freedom meant people having food, shelter and clothing. He arguably claimed under his rule, people had attained these things. Admitted, his emphasis on agriculture generally made the country food self-sufficient. And he led by example by being the Mchikumbe Number 1.
Not surprisingly, unlike Bakili Muluzi who succeeded Kamuzu, and used every opportunity to demonize Kamuzu, the second multiparty president, the late Bingu wa Mutharika affirmed that independent Malawi under Kamuzu had transformed beyond recognition. Bingu further bragged that he had been part of that transformation. To reflect this change, in 2010, he even changed the elements of the national flag. He did not stop there. He also flattered himself or flirted with the title Ngwazi—an accolade that had hitherto been a preserve of Kamuzu, also to reflect his contribution towards Malawi’s transformation.
Fast forward, undeniably, poverty levels remain very high 61 years after independence. But if we remove our partisan lenses, especially now when our fixation on the General Elections could be blurring our vision, we will begin to see and appreciate that all the presidents, from Kamuzu to the incumbent Lazarus Chakwera have invariably left a mark on the country’s social economic development. What cannot also be disputed, though, is that there has been a mismatch between the prosperity attained and what the political leaders have been promising Malawians during their campaigns when seeking political offices. So they could have done better.
From the word go, in 1993, the opposition leadership which wanted and fought for change was too obsessed with just dislodging the single party leadership and gaining freedom. The newly-attained freedom thus birthed a free-for-all and irresponsible mindset of entitlement, corruption and greed. Meanwhile, the economy has been tanking. Unfortunately, each successive government has been blaming either the previous administration or other factors for its failure to fix the economy. Only Malawians can save Malawi. Kamuzu has been gone for 28 years. Our leaders should stop living the lies of fairytales. It is only in fairy-tales where endings are happy with magical spells and magic wands fixing things. Leaders have to reflect deeply on their responsibilities. We have to put fuel in vehicles that move and not whip dead horses.
Indisputably, what Kamuzu achieved for the country far outweighs what all the five presidents after him have done for Malawi put together.
