From the notorious Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Youth League and its abolished paramilitary wing mislabelled Malawi Young Pioneers to the Young Democrats of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Cadets of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the youth wings in the country’s governing parties have been violent and intolerant to dissenting views.
The young fanatics’ attacks on people with different political viewpoints was supposed to end in 1993 when Malawians elected democracy over MCP’s dictatorship and reign of terror, which was partly sustained by the red-shirt youth leaguers, also known as chiswe (termites) and the armed young pioneers in green and khaki garbs.
However, the story of youth-led violence persists despite several calls to wean them from violence.
The neglected trend, loosely blamed on politicians who use the youth for their selfish agendas, bared its ugly head again on Wednesday when some panga-wielding thugs expelled anti-regime protesters in Lilongwe.
What’s wrong?
Peace and security expert Master Dicks Mfune says the act of terror, which threatens political tolerance, national unity and freedom of assembly, shows that governing parties have not yet embraced tolerance.
He states that Malawians should look no further for signals of intolerance as most party elites appear reluctant to condemn violent acts perpetrated by their youth wings.
Said Mfune: “The problem is very pronounced among ruling parties because they have the means to sustain such activities owing to their connection with the State machinery.
“Unlike the case with the opposition, this scenario gives ruling parties numerous sources of patronage; thereby, enabling them to attract vulnerable youths to such illiberal assignments.”
National Advocacy Platform (NAP) chairperson Benedicto Kondowe is worried that political manipulation, lack of political education, and a culture of impunity fuel youth terror.
He argues weak institutions and systems to hold perpetrators accountable create a climate where youth feel emboldened to act violently without fear of repercussion.
Kondowe states: “Most of the youth are economically disadvantaged, so they are frequently exploited by political parties. Instead of being offered avenues for constructive participation in politics or society, they are used as political pawns by parties seeking to eliminate rivals.
“The police’s slow response to political violence is indicative of a broader challenge in Malawi, where law enforcement is often not impartial, and political interference may compromise their ability to act decisively.”
Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka opines that politicians at the helm of governing parties enjoy the violence because it suppresses the opposition, civil society and other critical voices.
“The police have not been acting on this because it has been taking instructions from the ruling elite and this is another incentive for violence. Don’t you wonder that ruling parties never come out to condemn such violence? It is because they are the main beneficiaries?” he asks.
Winners and losers
Youth Watch Society programmes manager Edward Kantuseya fears that continued violence has detrimental effects of political participation, transparency and accountability as well as economic freedom.
Mfune agrees, saying, if left untamed, such political attitudes could be transferred to the next generation of the youth.
“Such a scenario could undermine the stability of the country and by then it will be difficult to reverse the trend through constitutional means,” he warned in an interview.
In addition, Kondowe said the violence may not only affect the 2025 General Elections, but could also lead to greater instability, loss of life, and a further erosion of public trust in political institutions.
“The use of youth in violent political activities creates a toxic environment where political disputes are resolved through force rather than dialogue, undermining democratic principles,” he feared.
The wave of terror witnessed in Lilongwe is thought to be part of perverted territorial politics in which some political giants, especially those in power, will do anything to make their strongholds inaccessible to their competitors.
The creation of no-go zones evokes memories of the countdown to the May 1999 General Election when disputes over Bakili Muluzi’s narrow re-election stirred some people in the Northern Region to torch mosques and expel people from the South while the Southerners retaliated by banishing northerners too.
The wave of violence, which was neglected in the run-up to the contentious poll, gave rise to the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust to entrench a culture of democracy.
Nice executive director Gray Kalindekafe tells The Nation that the recent surge in violence against demonstrators in Lilongwe poses a significant threat to Malawi’s democracy in the countdown to “the critical 2025 elections”.
He stated: “Incidents involving armed counter-demonstrators and police using tear gas highlight the escalating tensions surrounding political dissent and calls for electoral reform. A myriad of stakeholdees, incouding civil society, religious leaders and former presidents have condemned these acts, emphasising their potential to undermine peace and stability necessary for free elections.
“The unrest not only disrupts public order, but also raises concerns about the impartiality of law enforcement, which is vital for maintaining democratic integrity. As Malawi navigates this turbulent landscape, fostering dialogue and ensuring accountability will be essential to safeguard its democratic ideals and the electoral process.
Kalindekafe urges politicians across the divide to jointly condemn the ugly scenes.
Last week, President Lazarus Chakwera broke the silence on the rising wave of armed political hooliganism in Lilongwe.
“Violence has no place in our country,” he said in a national address televised on the State-owned MBC.
For the first time, the President backed rebukes by his predecessors Muluzi, Joyce Banda and Peter Mutharika who fear political violence could disrupt democracy and peace.
What next?
Gift Sambo, a legislative, electoral politics and public policy expert from the University of Malawi, says the blight on Malawi’s 31-year-old democracy calls for more initiatives, resources and incentives to boost law enforcement agents’ capacity to tackle political violence.
He says: “This should also involve deliberate steps towards the rejuvenation of the spirit of community policing and civic education in rural areas where the majority of our youths reside.
“Political parties should look beyond the next elections by taking proactive steps in creating vibrant youth wings. The youth are strong and innovative. They should be given the necessary support to effectively contribute towards the development of their parties.
On his part, Aubrey Kabisala, a security studies lecturer at Mzuzu University, notes that there is no end in sight as long as political parties continue to feign that they do not know those involved in violence.
“Even if those acts of violence are initiated by party supporters or sympathisers, there is always that argument that ‘we also do not know those people.’ This is where intelligence operations are needed.
“We also need to strengthen the legal framework for sanctioning political parties whose supporters perpetrate violence, since party authorities will always argue that they also do not know those criminals,” he suggests.
