Good people, Kamuzu Day came, vanished and Malawi is still a democracy as she were in June 1993 when we voted out founding president Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s one-party rule in preference for plurality.

Last week, I termed our obsession with the icon of dictatorship “r****sh”. However, feedback has been overwhelming that the only r****sh” over here is that my scrawls on the art of names were actually r****sh—perverted perspectives in contempt of the Father and Founder of the Malawi Nation.

I may choose to differ, but the democracy we willfully elected entails openness to any other point of view—even when we do not agree with this and that. So, it is in this spirit of honesty and tolerance that I sincerely apologize to all offended by my take on overused insensitive names we usually bestow on public goods.

Poll fever

Today, it’s three days to the long-awaited tripartite polls ending the deafening chants: 2014 Boma. Since 2009 elections, politicians have never ceased to campaign for the positions up for grabs on May 20. But all the political talk, lies, songs, promises, castigation, defending the indefensible and building castles in the air—that season our mothers and grannies compose sweet tunes in support of their favorites and ridiculing other contenders—had to come to an end.

For the creative industry, the Monday election marks the end of the Class of 2009-14, a clueless crop which had nothing to offer to the development of entertainment, arts and culture—a president and members of Parliament who took pride in financing artists’ funerals rather than putting in place policies and an enabling environment to ensure the talented kindred live lives worth living. Unfortunately,musicians Billy Kaunda, Joseph Tembo and Dr Crowd were accomplices to this omission by virtue of keeping quiet and sticking to their comfy chairs when arts matters were being tossed into honourable trashcans.

As we look forward to Mbenjere, Lucius Banda and Bon Kavalansanza joining the choir of law-makers, I can only wish that both winners and losers in the fast-approaching polls will give peace a chance. Don’t drag peace-loving Malawians into bloodshed. God Bless Our Malawi.