May 21, 2026
On October 10 every year, Malawi joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Mental Health Day.
Over the years, greater recognition has been given to mental health as a human right. This is important because mental health conditions often come with stigma, discrimination and misunderstanding.
As I write, Malawi appears gripped by numerous social and mental health challenges.
Drug and alcohol abuse are taking a heavy toll, while marriages are breaking down at an alarming rate. Not long ago, students at Robert Blake Secondary School allegedly set parts of their school ablaze after a new head teacher sought to enforce discipline by acting against a boy found smoking hemp and reducing students’ entertainment days.
On social media alone this week, reports emerged of a man strangling his grandfather to death, another man and his wife allegedly killing their baby for reasons known only to them, and in Zomba, a man allegedly beheading his wife.
Hardly a day passes without hearing reports of the defilement of girls as young as three years old. As I write, four trainee police officers have reportedly been arrested for possessing fake Malawi School Certificate of Education certificates. By Friday, May 22, they were expected to graduate from the Police Training School in Kanjedza.
You see, we hear 88 suspects are still on remand as they await trial for the murder of eight people in Chikwawa and Nsanje over allegations of making private parts disappear.
Are these disturbing incidents becoming more visible because information now spreads faster through social media? Or are more people silently struggling with mental health conditions?
Times are hard. A recent study shows that poverty in rural areas has increased sharply, with more people relying on maganyu for survival.
The economy is struggling. The kwacha continues to lose value and it often appears that those in positions of leadership believe they are the best thing to ever happen to the country.
Stress and depression are becoming overwhelming and pushing many people to their emotional limits.
It is also evident that mental health professionals remain too few, while wellness and mental healthcare services remain beyond the reach of many ordinary Malawians.
At times, what happens in the country also raises questions about decision-making in high places.
While we may be dealing with what many view as an insensitive government, it is equally fair to ask difficult questions of the opposition. Last week, many wondered: Where is the opposition?
Who will lift the spell that seems to have cast us into these social and psychological upheavals? What sacrifices must be offered for relief to come? Only time will tell.
While we are at it, opposition Malawi Congress Party supporters camped at their leader Lazarus Chakwera’s home, as rumours were rife that he would be arrested.
We have seen these kinds of antics before. When police wanted to put Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda under house arrest at the Mudi House, MCP supporters were at the gates to prevent any police action. At the time, Kamuzu’s arrest came for suspicions that he knew a thing or two about the 1983 murders of three cabinet ministers and a parliamentarian.
One thing that is clear is that politicians have to fight their own battles. Otherwise the scenes we witnessed at Kamuzu’s mausoleum are not pleasant at all.
