Key speakers at the inaugural Chakufwa Chihana Memorial Public Lecture on Sunday evening decried the country’s shrinking civic space and weakened civil society largely deemed under State capture for personal gains.
The lecture, introduced by Youth and Society (YAS) and Mzuzu University (Mzuni), was held under the theme ‘Legacy of courage: Anchoring Malawi’s democratic future on the foundations of the struggle’ and sought to raise awareness on the impact and legacy of the departed politician and trade unionist.
Delivering a keynote address, Professor Wiseman Chijere-Chirwa observed that present day labour and human rights activism is weak, betraying Chihana’s fight for socio-economic freedom and legacy.
He said: “Multiparty democracy has indeed institutionalised civic liberties, human rights and others but the quality of the civil society has declined over the years.
“I expected powerful apolitical human rights defenders, trade unions, farmers’ unions and cooperatives that seriously questioned the justification to set prices of farm produce on behalf of poor farmers.”
Chijere-Chirwa described Chihana, whose political struggles influenced the introduction of multiparty democracy in the country in the early 1990s, as a pioneer of labour and political reform.
defenders. | Euneas Zinyengo
He said: “His [Chihana] activism is categorised into three phases; from 1958 to 1969 when he linked his trade union principles to diaspora institutions, in the 1970s when he injected academic prowess to fight social injustice.
“The third phase is the reckoning period in the 1980s characterised by various events that culminated into the 1992 political governance transition.”
Taking his turn, long time activist Ollen Mwalubunju said today’s civil society has turned into opportunistic institutions.
“Civil society is more like a joke. Chakufwa Chihana would definitely be sad if he saw this,” he said.
Mzuni-based political scientist Chrispin Mphande said Malawi needs effective institutions to achieve the economic freedom the late Chihana wanted.
Mzuni Vice-Chancellor Professor Wales Singini said political affiliations cost the public activism.
On the other hand, YAS executive director Charles Kajoloweka, one of the present day activists, said much as civil society organisations try to thrive, the civic space keeps shrinking due to State capture.
“We constantly see State encroachment into the civic space. It is the same State which creates and sponsors other entities in the name of civil society organisations,” he said.
In response, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Charles Mhango conceded that the country faces corruption and social exclusion, but said government is committed to ending the vices.
He said: “On fighting corruption, we are intensifying whistle-blower mechanisms to detect the vice before it happens.
“Government is committed to promoting rule of law, good governance and democracy so that we do not lose the democratic dividends the late Chihana achieved.”
Meanwhile, Chihana’s family member Wallace Chiumia unveiled plans to establish the Chakufwa Chihana Foundation and launch his mausoleum on June 12 2026.
“As a family, we are proposing that this foundation will raise funds to support less privileged people in the country,” he said.
Chihana spent the 1970s and 1980s in exile after crossing paths with founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda as he opposed the one-party system.
In 1992, he returned to Malawi for a democracy conference and made headlines when he described Kamuzu’s party, Malawi Congress Party, as “a party of death and darkness” while advocating for a multiparty system.
Chihana was arrested on arrival at Kamuzu International Airport in the wake of the remarks. He was later sentenced to two years imprisonment for sedition. However, pressure continued to mount, and Kamuzu agreed to a referendum held on June 14 1993 where Malawians rejected the one-party rule and opted for democracy.
He later served as the country’s second vice-president, president of Alliance for Democracy and Rumphi Central legislator. He died on June 12 2006.
