Public approval of President Lazarus Chakwera is crumbling as he continues to face booing whenever he is on the road, a development which political analysts say points to a loss of popularity.
Viiral clips on social media for two separate occasions when he was driving in Lilongwe on his convoy, show people standing by the roadside booing him in apparent fury over the perceived bad state of governance.
In the first video, onlookers are heard screaming at the convoy, “Takutoperani” (We are fed up!) as chorused, saying “Mafuta iwe! Mafuta iwe! [Give us fuel! Give us fuel!] in reference to continued fuel shortage in the country.
But in the most recent video, where the presidential convoy was passing through a trading centre at Chinsapo 2 on Monday evening, a choir of spectators along the road is heard screaming “Achoke, achoke” [Let him resign! Let him resign!].
The President was on his way to State House from Malingunde in Senior Chief Masumbankhunda’s in Lilongwe where he had gone on a whistle-stop tour to mobilise people to register for the September 16 2025 General Elections.
On the same day, he also addressed a gathering at Chiunjiza Trading Centre in Msinja South Constituency in Traditional Authority Masula in the district.
Chinsapo 2 residents that we have spoken to confirmed that the incident happened around 7pm on Monday, but indicated that it was spontaneous and not planned as MCP Leader of the House Richard Chimwendo Banda claimed in response to a concern on the same raised in the House by Mulanje Bale legislator Victor Musowa on Tuesday.
“Nothing incited the booing. People are just fed up with the country’s social economic status. They are frustrated with the high cost of living. Fertiliser prices are unbearable. They cannot even access AIP [Affordable Inputs Programme] fertiliser,” said a trader speaking on condition of anonymity.
In a telephone response on Tuesday, presidential press secretary Anthony Kasunda refused to comment on the matter, saying “this is political in nature so it has to be reacted to by Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu”.
But by press time yesterday Kunkuyu had not responded to our questionnaire sent to him on Monday.
Reacting to the development, political pundit Wonderful Mkhutche said the trend could be a sign of the public’s frustration over unfulfilled promises as such it is likely to impact Chakwera’s bid for a second-term in office.
“The President has performed far below expectations hence this public reaction. He has lost popularity and this will continue should there be no sensible action from the government.
“It will negatively affect the image of the government and the President. As a result, particularly in his bid for re-election, he may not win the elections since he is not an appealing candidate,” he said.
In a separate interview, political commentator Victor Chipyofya observed that the boos should spark some soul-searching on the part of President Chakwera, saying one ought to understand that it is not easy to boo the Head of State.
“The President’s office ought to be respected regardless of who is sitting in that position. To get people angry to the point that they start booing the President, one really has to reflect on how bad they have been.
“The President’s office is representative of the people. What it means is that the people have lost confidence in him or his office. And that is very surprising because Lilongwe is considered the Malawi Congress Party stronghold,” he said.
Police on September 12 2024 fired tear gas to disperse irate people in Chikwawa who threw stones at President Chakwera’s motorcade, damaging several vehicles in apparent retaliation for the uprooting of opposition party flags.
Three police sources confided in The Nation that in the fracas, one police officer sustained serious injuries while two vehicles had their windscreens damaged.
On January 20 2024, the President also had a rude awakening when some mourners on a funeral procession heading to HHI Cemetery in Blantyre obstructed his motorcade, demanding that it should give way to the cortege.
Two people were arrested, but later their case was discontinued after it attracted public attention, including one incident where Ndirande Township residents filled up a courtroom to offer the suspects moral support.
