Cultural groups are the backbone of identities. Every Malawian is identified with a particular cultural group.
This is the reason there are cultural festivals such as Umtheto for Ngonis in Mzimba, Umhlangano for Maseko Ngonis and Chiwanja cha Ayao for the Yaos.
Others are Mulhako wa Alhomwe for the Lhomwes, Gonapamuhanya in Rumphi for Tumbuka and Kulamba Cultural Festival for Chewas from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. But it is Mulhako wa Alhomwe that is on spotlight.
Since its inception in 2007, Mulhako wa Alhomwe patrons have always been politicians from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who normally talk politics and people ululate. They have used the event to attack opponents but without any reprimand from the group.
Perhaps one of the ugliest incidents took place during this year’s celebrations at Chonde in Mulanje early this month. Followers of Kondwani Nankhumwa’s People’s Development Party (PDP) brought a chair for him and placed it in front at the VIP section. However, some people removed it and put it further away. A commotion ensued.
This gave questions to many people as to whether what happened has to do with politics. PDP spokesperson Rhodes Msonkho believes so.
He said in an interview: “The way they treated Right Honourable Nankhumwa was all politics, no doubt about that.
“If he was still in the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP], that would not have happened.”
Msonkho also condemned some of the songs at the cultural festival, describing them as political.
“For example, Sendera Sisters were not supposed to be given the platform to sing because they are known to be political,” he said.
The publicist called for a new approach in Mulhako wa Alhomwe to be seen as a cultural group, not a branch of a political party.
He said: “For example, a patron should be a traditional leader like Paramount Chief Kaduya, not as is the case where he is also a party leader.”
Msonkho, however, said the establishment of the group by President Bingu wa Mutharika was not a bad idea because he wanted the Lhomwes to unite culturally. He said the problem is how the group is being managed.
But Mulhako wa Alomwe has dismissed suggestions that the group is political. Its chairperson, Muchanakhwaye Mpuluka said people should not associate the group with politics just because its founder was a politician.
He said: “People should not think that because the founder of Mulhako wa Alhomwe was a politician, then the group is political. It is not true.
“But one thing they forget is that Bingu was also a Lhomwe. So you should look at the group as a cultural institution minus politics.”
On Nankhumwa, Mpuluka said there was no issue as he was welcomed just like any Lhomwe. He dismissed suggestions that he would not have been mistreated if he was still in the DPP.
Asked why he was the only party leader who was pushed away from the VIP when other politicians from the Alliance for Democracy and UTM were on the front row, Mpuluka said they were visitors.
He said: “Those parties you are talking about were invited. But Mr. Nankhumwa came like any other Lhomwe. So you can see the difference.
“Forget about party leadership; look at it from cultural lens where one is a Lhomwe while another one is not.”
On the presence of DPP Sendera Sisters, the Mulhako wa Alhomwe chairperson said they were not the only group that was invited. He mentioned gule wamkulu which performed, but is not part of Mulhako wa Alhomwe.
On allowing former president Peter Mutharika to talk politics at the festival, Mpuluka accused some people of talking only the negatives in the whole speech.
“There were a number of things that he talked about such as encouraging the youth to go to school, but some people deliberately ignored that,” he said.
Political analyst Ernest Thindwa said many cultural organisations in the country allow politicians to exploit them.
He said much as Mulhako wa Alhomwe was started by a politician, it was up to the group to map the way forward so that it is apolitical.
Said Thindwa: “The problem is how it was formed. But they should have detached themselves from politics and become purely cultural.
“It should learn from other cultural groups such as the Tumbukas or that for the Ngondes who don’t involve politicians, but make chiefs as patrons. Because if you do, prominence is given to them [politicians].
