Bakili Muluzi

What is wrong with Muluzi and Malawians? Bakili Muluzi, the former President of Malawi, has been elected to be a flag bearer for his party! He won 1,950 votes against the 30 won by Vice-President and protégé-cum-consigliore, Cassim Chilumpha - his only challenger for the United Democratic Front ticket. This, for Muluzi and his cronies, is a sure way to re-run for Presidency in the 2009 general elections.

How can such abuse be allowed to happen!   What’s wrong with asthenophoic Muluzi and other African rulers contemplating this sacrilege? Will Malawians really stomach this insult to their democracy and constitution? What shame and defeat for democracy! It is not forgotten how Muluzi shamelessly attempted to amend the constitution in his favour. However, brave Malawians blotted the genie from getting out of the bottle. They foiled bunkum.

Now that the selfsame Muluzi has stumbled on a loophole in the misconstrued constitution averring he can run again; he wants some more? What new thing will he do for Malawi that he failed to do for two terms in office?   If anything,  Muluzi seems to be day dreaming. Perhaps, he thinks: Malawi can be deceived by his argle-bargle of ousting Bingu wa Mutharika, current president. Will they commit this deadly sin by swallowing his hook, line and sinker just as the members of his party who voted him?  As former President, one would expect him to become a Pan-Africanist contributing to the revamping of Africa from the enemies she’s facing.

Media reports indicate how Muluzi has been manipulating his party’s members to endorse him so as to face off wa Mutharika. His United Democratic Front (UDF) has succumbed to his machinations. When Malawians booted Banda out in a bid to break free from the trauma of dictatorship, the situation, by then, forced Malawians to vote for incompetent Muluzi. Muluzi became a liability and fatal political accident.

We learn through mistakes. But repeating the same mistakes is not learning but committing a sacrilegious sin. Will brave Malawians be this blind? Human rights activists need to go back to the drawing board to bar power-sick Muluzi from destabilizing Malawi. 

Muluzi’s attempt has one lesson: corrupt retired rulers who abused their offices fear that anytime, they can be brought to books. They therefore try to destabilize the country in order to busy the government of the day so as to forget their sins. Muluzi must thank God that  Wa Mutharika, apart from showing political tolerance and maturity, is a liberal. This civility and maturity should not be mistaken for chicken-heartedness or taken for a ride.

Wa Mutharika has proved to Malawi that he has a mission-cum vision. The economy that Muluzi squandered is now recovering; democracy is shriving. What else does Muluzi, his cohorts and yo-yos want to offer to Malawians? Shall Muluzi succeed to stand, let alone win, the humiliation Malawi will suffer will never recover for centuries. Again, this will be a very nefarious precedent for the whole continent. For this reason therefore, Africans must chip in to help the people of Malawi to navigate and sail through this tumultuous sea.

If UDF is impotent this much to lack presidential material in other persons, it should disband itself and let its members join other competent parties. Ask Muluzi what his mission is. Isn’t it nothing but to unseat Wa Mutharika? Can such bulimia really convince any voter in the first place? Look at Kaunda, Chissano, Nujoma and others. Instead of fanning chaos, they are helping new leaders to brace themselves to power.

One thing that Muluzi needs to know is this:  Malawians know how he squandered their economy and they will not stomach this second mockery. How can Muluzi who used to dish money out to every sycophant be allowed even to pick the forms! He should be ordered to return back the monies he stole from public coffers. Have Malawians easily forgotten his concerted efforts to superimpose himself on them by tampering with the constitution? Does he think they have already forgotten the beatings and brutality from his police during demonstrations?   Or may be Muluzi wants to be crowned a king of Malawi! Never.

Off the cuffs: Tanzanian government in its desperate face-saving efforts issued a formal note that it will probe former president, Benjamin Mkapa on allegations he abused his office. When will Daniel arap Moi face the music?   The wisdom of today is, “It is fitting that a liar should be a man of good memory.