Why I cried—Mbendera

The great man wept. It happened at a televised event. Most people at the National Tally Centre in Blantyre and throughout Malawi were shocked.

What gave? Most people still wonder.

Indeed, disbelief was written all over people’s faces as they watched the famously composed Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Maxon Mbendera lose his usual ice cold calm he maintained throughout the electoral process and broke down in tears as he presided over the announcement of presidential results on Fridaynight.

So, Nation on Sunday asked him on Saturday: What broke the ice, sir?

The Supreme Court justice, in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of President Peter Mutharika’s swearing-in ceremony at the High Court in Blantyre, confessed that he had an emotional attack after realising that he was about to make a declaration that would spark wild celebrations for the winning party when one family elsewhere was mourning.

He was referring to the man who died in Mangochi during electoral protests earlier in the day.

“I was there making a statement on the elections and there was a family in Mangochi. The death in Mangochi was unnecessary. The party they were protesting for, United Democratic Front (UDF), was trailing fourth, so what was the protest all about?” he asked.

Mbendera said he was afraid that the violence in Mangochi would escalate nationally, saying: “I feared nationwide bloodshed.”

He said in the just-ended election, MEC was not allowed to work independently as there was a lot of political interference. Mbendera said there was need for quick political and legal reforms pertaining to elections.

“There are too many loopholes in the law. We need to reform,” he said.

Mbendera said after the election all he wanted was to take a break and rest.

“We have a president and a peaceful nation,” he said, adding that he regrets nothing.