On March 23, marked 43 years since the assassination of Dr. Attati Mpakati in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1983. Attati, as he was fondly known, was more than a victim of one-party rule, he was a fearless Malawian who confronted dictatorship and paid the ultimate price. Yet today, he remains one of the many erased from our national memory.
I am writing about Attati not to target any leader or political party, but to highlight the double-standard and selective narrative in how history is told in recognising our national martyrs. Whether deliberate or not, it is a shame.
Dr Mpakati was not simply a dissident, he was an intellectual, a political activist, and a visionary who stood firm against the rule of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. In an era when dissent meant imprisonment without trial, disappearance, exile, or death, Attati refused silence. His voice was a weapon, his ideas a shield, and his life a sacrifice for the liberation of our country.
Born in Chiradzulu, he joined the nationalist struggle in the 1950s, later pursuing studies in the Soviet Union and Sweden. He enrolled at Leningrad State University in Russia, graduating with a Master of Arts in Economics in July 1967, before earning a Doctorate in Political Science from Stockholm University in Sweden.
While in Sweden, Attati was exposed to Western political thought and methodologies which he later applied to his political activism in the struggle against Dr Banda.
In exile, he regrouped with like-minded colleagues such as Grey Kamuyambeni, Mundu Mwambetania, Archbald Mwakasungula, Clement Malama, Jomo Chikwakwa and many others to form the Socialist League of Malawi (Lesoma). Under his leadership, Lesoma became the torchbearer of resistance, keeping alive the dream of a free Malawi.
His years in Tanzania and Mozambique were marked with mobilising and organising Malawian exiles, building networks of solidarity with liberation movements across southern Africa, as it was understood that dictatorship could not be fought in isolation but through alliances, intellectual exchange, and empowerment. These efforts made many young Malawians in exile and from inside access training and education abroad to equip them with skills to later return home and contribute to Malawi’s civic, academic and professional life.
Attati’s struggle extended beyond opposing dictatorship, he sought to prepare a generation capable of rebuilding a democratic Malawi. In exile, he collaborated with liberation movements across southern Africa and supported Malawian exiles, sustaining the struggle even after surviving a parcel bomb in Maputo in 1979. Undeterred, he declared to Banda that Malawi’s struggle for democracy and human rights would continue whether he lived or was killed, a prophecy tragically fulfilled four years later when he was assassinated in Harare.
Attati’s courage and ideals also laid the foundation for institutions of resistance for Malawian’s continued struggle. The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), one of Malawi’s foremost governance and human rights organisations founded by young activists returning from exile Ollen Mwalubunju, yours truly, Khwauli Msiska and the late John Soo Phiri drew inspiration from him. CHRR is a reflection of the enduring imprint of Attati’s ideals, this is history that cannot be erased, nor ever be ignored.
To let martyrs like Dr. Attati Mpakati fade into obscurity is a betrayal of our history of resistance. His sacrifice reminds us that democracy is sustained not only by those in power, but also by those who dared to challenge it. It is, therefore, important for the nation to honour the sons and daughters to teach the new and future generations that freedom is fought for, not given. The challenge to us is being honest in recognising all those who fought for Malawi’s freedom and democracy.
Attati lives in our struggle and freedom. Attati must live in our memory. Though his voice was silenced by bullets in Harare, his message still echoes: “The struggle continues.
