Illusion of People’s Power?

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There was a time when President Bingu wa Mutharika commanded the police to shoot and kill demonstrators in Mzuzu. It happened. People lost their lives. So, you speak of “people’s power”? Where was that power then? Where was democracy?

I maintain that any nation is only as democratic as its leader.

You argue that people removed President Peter Mutharika (APM) in 2020 through demonstrations, proving Malawi’s democracy. But the applause should go to APM himself. Why? Because in 2020, he possessed the same power as his brother, the power to command a brutal crackdown, to order shoot-to-kill. He did not. He chose restraint, though he stood his ground on the electoral commission chair, Jane Ansah, until the courts ruled otherwise. Was that the power of the people, or the power of institutions?

You cite peaceful transitions of power as proof of democracy. I call them coincidental. Nothing inherently democratic.

Where is democracy when corruption suffocates the nation? Where is democracy in the practice of nepotism? Where is it in tribalism? Where is it in the blind loyalty, the Facebook outbursts, and the profanity paraded from public podiums?

And let us be clear: democracy is not perfect. Current global events reveal how easily it can be abused. Even nations hailed as mature democracies can be led astray by their leadership. Any intelligent and sane person knows this.

A country is as democratic as its leaders. We have not had such leaders of true democratic character. That is why we sometimes take things for granted. We think we have the power. But do we? In the face of electoral rigging, do we have power? In the face of political arrogance and impunity, do we have power?

This demands a sober mind. It requires logical and intellectual interrogation. This is a sane discourse for those willing to see clearly.

Sizomabwela pano ndi thovu. Unali ku State House pano wakhaula. Post yake siiyiyi. Dikilani yanu. Chizungu chokhachokha pano tamvana.  Ndi za anthu oganiza izi osati mathovu ngati muli ku ma demo. Intelligent discussion. ZIkomo.

Written by

Shadreck Chikoti

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