Families of four politicians murdered during the one-party State under Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in 1983 are set to hold a memorial service on May 30 in Chikwawa to mark the 43rd anniversary.
The fallen politicians, dubbed the ‘Mwanza Four’ are David Chiwanga, Dick Matenje, Aaron Gadama and Twaibu Sangala. They were found dead on May 18, 1983 in a motor vehicle that was ditched at Thambani in Mwanza.
The official narrative from the government then was that they were fleeing to Mozambique.
But a 1994 Commission of Inquiry instituted after transition to multiparty democracy found that the four were murdered by State agents for opposing president Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s leadership style.
In a telephone interview on Wednesday, family representative Augustine Chiwanga, the second born son to the late Chiwanga, said the ceremony will begin with a requiem mass at St. Michael Cathedral in Chikwawa followed by laying of wreaths.
“As you know, 43 years is a long time, meaning there are grandchildren and great grandchildren, so we want to ensure that history lives on by explaining to them what happened back then and perhaps that at times life can be so cruel,” he said.
Joseph Gadama, the sixth son of late Aaron Gadama, said the services will always remain important to the families.
At the time of their murder, Chiwanga was serving as legislator for Chikwawa while Matenje, Gadama and Sangala were Cabinet ministers in Kamuzu Banda’s government.
Following change of government after the ushering in of plural politics, Kamuzu Banda was arrested in 1995 alongside his official hostess Cecilia Kadzamira, former MCP president John Tembo and police officers MacDonald Kalemba, Augustino Leston Likaomba and MacWilliams Lunguzi.
They were charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to defeat justice by destroying evidence.
But after a six-month trial, High Court of Malawi Judge Mackson Mkandawire, assisted by a jury of seven, acquitted the accused of all charges owing to lack of substantial evidence.
