PAC’s timely advice to Nankhumwa on demos

People hold demonstrations for various reasons. But primarily it is to show their disdain towards something and to force the duty-bearers or authorities to change the status quo. But in a world that is crooked, there will never be a shortage of some people using the same demonstrations for selfish ambitions. In this regard, Malawi has had both. In the same vein, some protests have achieved their objectives while others for different reasons, have not.

The challenges rocking the country are many. They include forex and fuel shortage and rising prices of commodities. These are making life very difficult for ordinary Malawians. Indisputably, these challenges are enough reasons for people to hold their leaders to account through demonstrations.

Understandably, it is against this background that Democratic Progressive Party vice-president for the South, Kondwani Nankhumwa, fresh from being handed recognition as Leader of Opposition by his own party, last week flexed his muscles and threatened to hold nationwide demonstrations against President Lazarus Chakwera. Nankhumwa said he would organise mass protests if the current administration does not address challenges affecting Malawians.

But if he were to take this path, Nankhumwa would not be the first person to do so. Not two or three but many people have mobilized the citizenry into nationwide demonstrations with the objective of forcing the administration to improve the social and economic wellbeing of the people.

Historically, the 2019 and 2020 nation-wide post-election protests against the disputed May 21 2019 election results were epochal in their organization and outcome. The protests stand out from the rest. Regrettably they left several people killed and billions of kwacha worth of property destroyed or looted, especially in the capital, Lilongwe, besides disrupting economic activity in the country as a whole. At the end of it all, the court annulled the results of the election and the opposition went on to win the new elections held on June 23 2020. Such is the power of demonstrations. They can make or unmake a government. They have done so many times the world over.

And there is no disputing the fact that the current administration is a beneficiary of mass protests. Malawians went to the streets to fight an injustice real or perceived. Several individuals and groups of people have since held many more demonstrations with different objectives and outcomes. 

But from those mass protests people have also learnt which one to support and which one not to support. When it comes to demonstrations there is no denying that Malawians are now wiser. One fundamental thing that they have learned is that one good demonstration can be hijacked by some individuals or political groups for their selfish ambitions.

Malawians have learnt to differentiate which demonstration would benefit them and which one would only be for the good of its financiers. They have learned that behind every demonstration is a financier. And so they will not be bulldozed into jumping on a demonstration without critically assessing the benefits of such a decision. We now have an informed citizenry. We are moving in the right direction. That is the beauty of democracy. 

One can only hope that is the perspective in which Nankhumwa understood the message from the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) this week which snubbed his threat to hold a mass protest. Nope, Nankhumwa, as Leader of Opposition, should be the last person herding people into the streets to make things change.  

It’s not just that holding nationwide demonstrations against Chakwera’s administration is not a remedy to socio-economic challenges besetting the country. Nankhumwa should leave such raw and low-level militancy to people who cannot sit on a round table with government and be heard.

His office as Leader of Opposition is given hohonur and allocated all those resources out of the recognition that he is part and parcel of the leadership and to facilitate engagement with anyone in government for the good of Malawians.

Kudos to PAC spokesperson Bishop Gilford Matonga for putting it to Nankhumwa in no uncertain terms that his strategy for enforcing accountability and good governance on government is wanting.