A couple of days ago, Dr Steve Sharra posted an article on Malawitalk,following Prime Minister Tony Blair's comments on slave trade.
He did not say anything but knowing Dr Sharra who at 16 began his social consciousness, sharing a strong feeling of inequality and injustice by powerful nations of the global North against smaller nations from the global South,http://mlauzi.blogspot.com/2006/05/bob-marley-and-continuing-struggle-for_11.html ,I reckoned his posting meant something and true to my gut feelings the title was self explanatory
"Blair: Britain's 'sorrow' for shame of slave trade"
The article had a historic statement by Prime minister Blair who was condemning slave trade and or slavery as’ crime against humanity'http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,1957278,00.html
As I went through the link provided by Steve, I soon developed an interest in the story.
A man of my race should know about slave trade. We were taught about it at school and were forced to memorize all the stories in order to pass history exams.
Never at one point did it occur to me that what happened then, was a heinous crime until I started reading each and every link provided by the guardian and other papers.
In no time, the exact picture of what slavery was, started to emerge. I remember coming a cross a certain passage on one link which had my face buried in shame. The passage was talking about the conditions on a slave ship in the 1700s-They were barbaric.
All what was important was profit as they packed people like sardines.
In the pages that follow, I could not control my emotions, as I found myself twitching the muscles of my face as if I had been exposed to an awful site yet in this very passage, these merciless slave traders and shippers had made slaves who happen to be people of my color to lie on their own excrement. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr4.html
As I went further reading this awful past of our former cousins, I came across another passage quoting a surgeon on a British slave ship who noted that the floor slave hold was covered in blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequence of dysentery resembled a slaughter house." The air was so foul that a candle would not light in it" he concluded.
On another link, the writer claimed thus:" on the worst voyages, skippered by men too drunk or too callous to take care of their charges, slaves attempted to jump overboard as others tried to kill themselves by refusing food, in which case the slave was forced to his knees and a burning coal was applied to his mouth to make him scream, then a metal implement called a speculum oris was forced between his jaws so that food could be emptied down his throat.
For good or bad reasons, this xerographic analysis was never discussed in any of the history books that I read during my primary and secondary school history tuition. As my head was full of questions, "How could people be so cruel? And what would force them to behave in this way, were there any laws against this heinous crime" Yes, there were laws, the second paragraph would reveal, just that it was lawful. http://www.afbis.com/analysis/slave.htm
It was legal. It brought millions of pounds into the British economy. Most of the big kahuna's were involved directly and or indirectly.
Cities like Bristol ,http://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/subIndex.php?sit_id=1 had an almost 60% of its economy dependent on slave trade but towards late spring of 1787, something happened under an “oak tree” on pit estate in holwood Kent.[please keep the word oak tree as I shall come back to it]
It started by 3 young men aged 28 namely Pitt, his cousin William Greniville and their friend William Wilberforce. What was discussed under that “Oak tree” by those twenty eight year olds would change the cause of history. It was the rarest of political phenomena- a collective change of hearts towards humanity by twenty eight year olds. Over two hundred years have gone since then. The trio, Pitt and the two Williams are long gone, but the “oak tree” stump is still there, marked with a plaque.
From then on, a series of campaign started which included parliamentary motions, congregational speeches and William Wilberfoce's best selling book-A PRACTICAL VIEW OF CHRISTIANITY in which he illustrated how religious faith could guide the habits, attitudes and politics of a nation. I must admit, reading through this marvelous book, I felt reading one of my own essays-THE POLITICS OF NKWEZULE.
As anyone can imagine, these brave young men, met insurmountable challenges. Old and experienced politicians first demanded evidence, when evidence was provided, they claimed "SLAVES WERE BETTER,HAPPIER,HEATHIER AND CLOSER TO GOD ON SUGAR PLANTATION THAN THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN IN PAGAN AFRICA.
Lord Nelson, a respected figure in British politics raged against an inexperienced young William dubbings his friends-hypocritical allies”. The then Royal family was not pleased with these youngsters cause and they utterly opposed it through the future King William 1V in the House of Lords. http://www.american.edu/TED/slave.htm
But as time fly past, things started changing. The young men were growing in strength and wisdom. They were getting organized two. By 1807, the government of the day, had had enough as most of the speeches were in favor of slave trade abolition bill followed by the solicitor general of the time who defined William Wilberforce as
"THE MODEL ENGLISHMAN WHO WOULD GO TO BED THAT NIGHT CONCIOUS OF HAVING PRESERVED SO MANY MILLIONS OF HIS FELLOW CREATURES"
And when the bill passed, the whole house rose in a scene almost unprecedented to cheer Wilberforce. They threw their hearts and sticks as a form of respect but much to their surprise, the man who was supposed to be hero of the hour sat with his head bowed as tears were streaming down his face, crying for a race that was not his, amidst sharing their anger, pain and despair. Not surprising indeed that at west minister abbey to day, his epitaph reads:
IN AN AGE AND COUNTRY FERTILE IN GREAT AND GOOD MEN,HE WAS AMONG THE FOREMOST OF THOSE WHO FIXED THE CHARACTER OF OUR TIME"
Immediately after reading this, I talked to myself and said,” thank you Dr Steve Sharra. Through your link on slave trade, I have managed to revisit my past and found it failing. I tried to recall, what I did when I was 28 and was sorry of my failure and own inadequacy to stand for injustices of my era .I had done nothing for my country apart from planning a long journey to the west to enrich myself.
As I look back at my trails to England, I saw my self crossing the same oceans where those born two hundred years before me had pass in a hold with some sleeping on their poop and own urine. I was drinking tomatoes juice and my favorite guava in the prestigious Austrian Airlines yet two hundred years ago, people of my race were on strike, wanting to die as they could not handle the degree of inhumanity.
It took the courage of young men who were rich and financially stable to hatch a plan that would change the world.
They did not meet on a cruise line or business class. They did not meet in a posh hotel or palace. These young men were rich and could afford life at Dorchester, but instead,
THEY MET UNDER THE OAK TREE .At 28; they sparked a debate that would soon change the whole world.
These people were the salt of the new found freedom and were the pillars of struggle for equality. Their willingness to challenge the injustices of the time and the inhuman nature of the manner in which people of my race were being treated were not ordinary acts.
Malawi may not be experiencing the wrath of slavery and the degree of injustices of the seventeenth centuries.
There is no doubt that what Malawi has accomplished within this short period is both impressive and inspiring. Among African nations, we remain a model for representative democracy - a place where many different ethnic factions have found a way to live and work together in peace and stability.
But for all the progress that has been made, we must surely acknowledge that we have not yet fulfilled our potential - that the hopefulness of the post-colonial era replaced by repression is a regrettable fact. That a post repressive administration was replaced by a decade of corruption and mob justice is another sad reality and that political despair, and that true economic freedom has not yet been won for those struggling to live on less than a few dollars a day, for those who have fallen prey to HIV/AIDS or malaria, to those ordinary citizens who continue to find themselves trapped in the crossfire of political depression needs a united front that brings the nation together.
Large parts of Malawi strike similar resemblance to those of the 17th century.
As did William and his friends under the OAK Tree that would change the tide of history, Malawians of youthful years also need to establish their own “OAK TREES” where issues of development and progress can be discussed.
As David Mkwambisi once said:" people should avoid shouting from the stands without themselves contributing to the development of the countryhttp://www.mailtalk.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A2=ind0611&L=malawitalk&D=1&O=D&F=&S=&X=5F7D796D3A07600326&Y=malawitalk%40hotmail.com&P=107223
There are parts in Malawi that are as poor as those in the days of Wilberforce and friends. Instead of looking to government for help, let’s seek personal means of lifting the spirits of our brothers and sisters.
Lets discuss humanity in the context of Dr Ken Lweya when he said:“ It is about treating others as we would to be treated. It is about a sense of sharing, belong and togetherness including the fact that no human being is an island. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/5388182.stm
Those of us that have been lucky to escape grinding poverty from our homes in urban cities and villages, Its high time we start paying attention to what Yona Matemba said on Malawitalk when he said," Lets use our BA's and Bsc's to create jobs and not use them in hunt jobs"
The calls of Yona Matemba and those before him are the foundations of Malawi's much needed "oak trees" wherever Malawians of youthful years meet.
Yona Matemba's calls goes deeper than tests and grades, varsity letters and service awards. It is the sort of calls that keeps each of one of us, asking the questions, what if, why, and why not? The one that keeps you always searching for answers to those questions. The one that makes you say,
"I don't have to be content with the present, because I have a role in changing the lives of others”
Yona Matemba's calls join other youthful thinkers like Dr Steve Sharra who argues that "defining development as buildings and infrastructure does capture the hopes and aspirations of many Malawians, but its narrowness and insufficiency comes from its inability to encourage the reconciliation of our endogenous institutions, traditions and cultures with our desire for change. http://www.mlauzi.blogspot.com/
I am in my mid 30s now and may not reverse history back to my 28 youthful days like the likes of Rhodrick Kalumpha,Greenwell Matchaya and Dr Mtumbuka to mention afew, but Malawi's OAK TREES calls for those with new ideas and just youngs ones, those who can propel the winds of industry, those who can take advantage of the current government's sound economic policies by tapping into readily available resources in our financial institutions and invest in areas that can create mass employement and pioneer the spirit of mass export.
There is a great need for men and women, young and old, who cannot use their scholarly and material achievements as weapons of intimidation.
After wining the biggest moral argument the world has ever seen, as his friends were cheering him in honor, Wilberforce sat down with his head bowed as tears were streaming down his face, crying for a race that was not his.
Why can’t we do the same, why not take a seat and reflect on the degree of poverty going on in our villages and do something about it?
Why can’t we use our resources and take time to constantly look around our impoverished nation and seek new ways to improve our situation, to embrace change as the inevitable engine of progress.
CAN MALAWIANS OF YOUTHFUL YEARS DO SOMETHING?
WHERE IS YOUR OAK TREE
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
SECTION 65 SHENANIGANS
Recent developments on section 65 are intriguing if taken in the context of first complainants-the UDF as it now turned out that the whole UDF has crossed the floor.
On their part, UDF is claiming that this was not their making since their sponsored candidate Dr Wamutharika is the one who made them left with no option but to relocate their benches from the ruling side to the opposing side,basically opposing their own government[according to hansard]
What they are forgetting is that,Dr Wamutharika is not a member of parliament.UDF abandoned their voters by relinquishing their governing duties to oppose the very same promises they made to their electorates and if their performance is taken in context,you will notice that not only have they crossed the floor.They have abandoned their constituents too.
UDF mps represents the interest of the party as opposed to the interest of their constituents. They agreed to cross the floor without seeking mandate from their constituents. As a party, they outlined a programme for government which will build on their successes, but their performance over the last two years contradict their promises. They promised to create opportunities, while blocking opportunities for people like Mrs.. Nangwale. They promised to enhance our security while their regional governor was busy recruiting 4000 youths to dethrone the elected government.
They promised the nation to take tough decisions in the interests of our country's long-term future while plotting to impeach the elected president in the short term future without any basis Where they promised progress and development to their constituents, they have been at the centre of frustrating it. They promised huge investments in public infrastructure but when they went to parliament,they were plotting to shoot down the budget.Now they will be forced to seek one.
One of the weaknesses of s.65 ruling is that there right to petition the speaker is not a monopoly of MCP and UDF.It belongs to everyone. This is what happens when politicians are hell-bent on frustrating the serving leader without strategizing their own vulnerable position.
As I once said, in the sport of judo, you are taught that it is not possible to succeed without an intimate understanding of the strength of your opponent. Every reader knows that as well as anyone. It is obvious from the outset, and from UDF's position, that their informality, seeming approachability, and apparent normality have been part of their successful attempts to frustrate progress.
They made it a point that Dr Wamutharika should not enjoy party support where he needed it most. Every person willing to offer any sort of help met stiff resistance and name calling and disciplinary threats from the party .lt is therefore not surprising that UDF has been caught off guard,because all along,they've tuned their political mindset to destroy and discredit everything by Dr Wamutharika be it in the interest of the nation or not.
The UDF party conveniently ignores to mention that the countries of Tanzania,Botswana, and South Africa have seen a smooth transfer of power to their successors and still enjoy the respect they deserve. Such secrecy and deception undermines the accountability of politicians and democratic debate. The choreography and lies which is typical of the UDF has led to increased public cynicism as the various ruses and manipulations have been revealed to the public.
"You can fool some of the people some of the time" some one once said.
UDF’s lack of democracy, accountability and openness has resulted in a political atmosphere of distrust and resentment in which it is argued that only manipulation can produce an historic accommodation. A more open, democratic debate about the ills of UDF’s internal politics in relation to governance issues concerning our country and ways of overcoming them might lead to a conducive environment which is popularly reinforced rather than balanced precariously on still seething reservoirs of communal hatred.
Since 2004, the, UDF party has betrayed every cause they believed in, contradicted every statement they made, broken every promise they made and breached every agreement that they entered into. There is a lifetime of U-turns, errors and sell-outs in UDF good enough to destroy the party. All reasonable citizens are in fact wondering whether the party now stands for anything any longer, or whether they are defending any point of principle, and confront the system that has led them to that sorry state.
UDF party may have been a member of the international consortium of liberal democrats where their mainstream political ideology evolves around economic reforms vs social reform but their record and performance since 2004 summed up their political philosophy: good ideas, lousy judgments and very very funny strategies.
They were in government when the much criticized free education was badly implemented. It led to an increase in class sizes while reducing the quality of education. Teachers were poorly trained and some went for months without wages. The declining of our education system even reached a boiling point to the extent of being labeled as an international concern by the World Bank When they were in government, the opposition were completely shut off from the public media despite constitutional provisions and their belief in the freedom of expression .
Memories are still fresh on how critics of s.65 face the wrath of UDF’s young democrats. Memories are fresh when EX hon. Kandodo Banda was bundled right within parliament compound. At its worse time, cars were touched and set ablaze sending fumes of vengeful smoke which bellowed the skies of parliament. Have we forgotten the unceremonial impeachment of the judges which brought down the whole judicial system to its knees. UDF party cannot have both ways. The UDF cannot tell the speaker to ignore other petitions and respect theirs on the same grounds.
As I once said, they remind me of the DIY fanatic who has suddenly taken over a great rambling house and immediately starts bashing it about, removing pipe work and knocking down walls without first working out which ones are structural. They reject as useless anything whose purpose they cannot immediately comprehend. Their indifference, if not contempt, for what they know as facts brings enormous dangers. Because many of the things which are so precious to us are protected by understandings and conventions. If these understandings are not understood, then our nation is left vulnerable indeed. People will wake up and find themselves living in what feels to be a different country. Without knowing quite how, some of the things which really matter to us and help shape our sense of what it is to be Malawian will have been lost.
As learned Trevor Chimimba once said" many of the constitutional amendments made after 1994 were unnecessary and section 65 was one of them. Instead of wasting time on whether who has the right to petition the speaker or not, we must spend this precious time in correcting UDF’s mess. Our hospitals, our schools, our police service, our welfare system were in an almost permanent state of crisis. The extraordinary and dedicated people who work in them were demoralized. The people who used them, dissatisfied. The people who run them, perplexed and confused as they desperately pull more and more levers and get no response.
Gone are the days when Children came home after another school day spent being taught by unqualified teachers without teaching aids and brought to their parents a letter from the head Teacher which said " if teachers don’t receive their payment from the government, the school may be forced to close as they cannot teach without food” Since 1994, our schools received numerous publications and regulations from the Ministry of Education. In the first six years, they sent out more than 140 circulars of guidance to teachers.
School terms changed time and time, undergraduate courses which normally last 4 years took an average of 5-7 years to complete due perpetual closures. The Government’s own curriculum Task Force came out with the controversial religious studies which divided our country into Muslims and Christian camps". These are some of the central issues that need exploring and pertinent questions must be asked to find out why? - Why did UDF failed to deliver? And is that failure doomed to repeat itself by Dr Wamutharika?
If anything, we ordinary voters should serve our petitions to the UDF party and their political surrogates . They have all crossed the floor by abandoning their constituents and voters who wants a better life and an environment in which dreams and ambitions can prosper Infact, voters should have a say in this through a min general election so we can give these recycled politicians a thorough beating with an oozing bloody nose.
Vast majority of people in Malawi desperately want to change the current crop of our MPS. They want to rid themselves of corrupt centric UDF because they now know that it is painfully obvious that their style of politics stifles development - it siphons off scarce resources that could improve infrastructure, bolster education systems, and strengthen public health. It stacks the deck so high against entrepreneurs that they cannot get their job-creating ideas off the ground. But elections are not enough. In a true democracy, it is what happens between elections that is the true measure of how political parties treats its people.
Today, we're starting to see that the Malawian people want more than a simple changing of the guard in parliament.They want more than piecemeal reforms to Tembo-made crisis that's crippling their country. The Malawian people are crying out for real change, and whether one voted for holding hands or Black cock in the 2004 elections, the message that many Malawians seemed to be sending is one of dissatisfaction with the pace of reform in these main stream opposition parties and real frustration with their attempts to suffocate development and progress on all fronts.
The good news however is that,they now settling at the present leadership and come elections, they will pass their verdict with a resounding voice - "TO HELL WITH YOUR POLITICS OF NKHWENZULE"
On their part, UDF is claiming that this was not their making since their sponsored candidate Dr Wamutharika is the one who made them left with no option but to relocate their benches from the ruling side to the opposing side,basically opposing their own government[according to hansard]
What they are forgetting is that,Dr Wamutharika is not a member of parliament.UDF abandoned their voters by relinquishing their governing duties to oppose the very same promises they made to their electorates and if their performance is taken in context,you will notice that not only have they crossed the floor.They have abandoned their constituents too.
UDF mps represents the interest of the party as opposed to the interest of their constituents. They agreed to cross the floor without seeking mandate from their constituents. As a party, they outlined a programme for government which will build on their successes, but their performance over the last two years contradict their promises. They promised to create opportunities, while blocking opportunities for people like Mrs.. Nangwale. They promised to enhance our security while their regional governor was busy recruiting 4000 youths to dethrone the elected government.
They promised the nation to take tough decisions in the interests of our country's long-term future while plotting to impeach the elected president in the short term future without any basis Where they promised progress and development to their constituents, they have been at the centre of frustrating it. They promised huge investments in public infrastructure but when they went to parliament,they were plotting to shoot down the budget.Now they will be forced to seek one.
One of the weaknesses of s.65 ruling is that there right to petition the speaker is not a monopoly of MCP and UDF.It belongs to everyone. This is what happens when politicians are hell-bent on frustrating the serving leader without strategizing their own vulnerable position.
As I once said, in the sport of judo, you are taught that it is not possible to succeed without an intimate understanding of the strength of your opponent. Every reader knows that as well as anyone. It is obvious from the outset, and from UDF's position, that their informality, seeming approachability, and apparent normality have been part of their successful attempts to frustrate progress.
They made it a point that Dr Wamutharika should not enjoy party support where he needed it most. Every person willing to offer any sort of help met stiff resistance and name calling and disciplinary threats from the party .lt is therefore not surprising that UDF has been caught off guard,because all along,they've tuned their political mindset to destroy and discredit everything by Dr Wamutharika be it in the interest of the nation or not.
The UDF party conveniently ignores to mention that the countries of Tanzania,Botswana, and South Africa have seen a smooth transfer of power to their successors and still enjoy the respect they deserve. Such secrecy and deception undermines the accountability of politicians and democratic debate. The choreography and lies which is typical of the UDF has led to increased public cynicism as the various ruses and manipulations have been revealed to the public.
"You can fool some of the people some of the time" some one once said.
UDF’s lack of democracy, accountability and openness has resulted in a political atmosphere of distrust and resentment in which it is argued that only manipulation can produce an historic accommodation. A more open, democratic debate about the ills of UDF’s internal politics in relation to governance issues concerning our country and ways of overcoming them might lead to a conducive environment which is popularly reinforced rather than balanced precariously on still seething reservoirs of communal hatred.
Since 2004, the, UDF party has betrayed every cause they believed in, contradicted every statement they made, broken every promise they made and breached every agreement that they entered into. There is a lifetime of U-turns, errors and sell-outs in UDF good enough to destroy the party. All reasonable citizens are in fact wondering whether the party now stands for anything any longer, or whether they are defending any point of principle, and confront the system that has led them to that sorry state.
UDF party may have been a member of the international consortium of liberal democrats where their mainstream political ideology evolves around economic reforms vs social reform but their record and performance since 2004 summed up their political philosophy: good ideas, lousy judgments and very very funny strategies.
They were in government when the much criticized free education was badly implemented. It led to an increase in class sizes while reducing the quality of education. Teachers were poorly trained and some went for months without wages. The declining of our education system even reached a boiling point to the extent of being labeled as an international concern by the World Bank When they were in government, the opposition were completely shut off from the public media despite constitutional provisions and their belief in the freedom of expression .
Memories are still fresh on how critics of s.65 face the wrath of UDF’s young democrats. Memories are fresh when EX hon. Kandodo Banda was bundled right within parliament compound. At its worse time, cars were touched and set ablaze sending fumes of vengeful smoke which bellowed the skies of parliament. Have we forgotten the unceremonial impeachment of the judges which brought down the whole judicial system to its knees. UDF party cannot have both ways. The UDF cannot tell the speaker to ignore other petitions and respect theirs on the same grounds.
As I once said, they remind me of the DIY fanatic who has suddenly taken over a great rambling house and immediately starts bashing it about, removing pipe work and knocking down walls without first working out which ones are structural. They reject as useless anything whose purpose they cannot immediately comprehend. Their indifference, if not contempt, for what they know as facts brings enormous dangers. Because many of the things which are so precious to us are protected by understandings and conventions. If these understandings are not understood, then our nation is left vulnerable indeed. People will wake up and find themselves living in what feels to be a different country. Without knowing quite how, some of the things which really matter to us and help shape our sense of what it is to be Malawian will have been lost.
As learned Trevor Chimimba once said" many of the constitutional amendments made after 1994 were unnecessary and section 65 was one of them. Instead of wasting time on whether who has the right to petition the speaker or not, we must spend this precious time in correcting UDF’s mess. Our hospitals, our schools, our police service, our welfare system were in an almost permanent state of crisis. The extraordinary and dedicated people who work in them were demoralized. The people who used them, dissatisfied. The people who run them, perplexed and confused as they desperately pull more and more levers and get no response.
Gone are the days when Children came home after another school day spent being taught by unqualified teachers without teaching aids and brought to their parents a letter from the head Teacher which said " if teachers don’t receive their payment from the government, the school may be forced to close as they cannot teach without food” Since 1994, our schools received numerous publications and regulations from the Ministry of Education. In the first six years, they sent out more than 140 circulars of guidance to teachers.
School terms changed time and time, undergraduate courses which normally last 4 years took an average of 5-7 years to complete due perpetual closures. The Government’s own curriculum Task Force came out with the controversial religious studies which divided our country into Muslims and Christian camps". These are some of the central issues that need exploring and pertinent questions must be asked to find out why? - Why did UDF failed to deliver? And is that failure doomed to repeat itself by Dr Wamutharika?
If anything, we ordinary voters should serve our petitions to the UDF party and their political surrogates . They have all crossed the floor by abandoning their constituents and voters who wants a better life and an environment in which dreams and ambitions can prosper Infact, voters should have a say in this through a min general election so we can give these recycled politicians a thorough beating with an oozing bloody nose.
Vast majority of people in Malawi desperately want to change the current crop of our MPS. They want to rid themselves of corrupt centric UDF because they now know that it is painfully obvious that their style of politics stifles development - it siphons off scarce resources that could improve infrastructure, bolster education systems, and strengthen public health. It stacks the deck so high against entrepreneurs that they cannot get their job-creating ideas off the ground. But elections are not enough. In a true democracy, it is what happens between elections that is the true measure of how political parties treats its people.
Today, we're starting to see that the Malawian people want more than a simple changing of the guard in parliament.They want more than piecemeal reforms to Tembo-made crisis that's crippling their country. The Malawian people are crying out for real change, and whether one voted for holding hands or Black cock in the 2004 elections, the message that many Malawians seemed to be sending is one of dissatisfaction with the pace of reform in these main stream opposition parties and real frustration with their attempts to suffocate development and progress on all fronts.
The good news however is that,they now settling at the present leadership and come elections, they will pass their verdict with a resounding voice - "TO HELL WITH YOUR POLITICS OF NKHWENZULE"
Thursday, November 16, 2006
LETTER TO THE STATE PRESIDENT-Dr Wamutharika
The State President [Republic of Malawi]
Your Excellency the State president ,
RE: URGENT NEED TO ESTABLISH A COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY
Reading some of the postings forwarded and posted to Malawi's discussion forums notably Malawitalk and Nyasanet, I was particularly struck by a debate which reproduced an autopsy report of Late Dr Stambuli, first by an unknown author on Malawitalk but latter by Mr. Tom Likambale [an alleged friend of the deceased] who posted it on Nyasanet. In the autopsy report ref; CPD/COM/036/03, circumstances that led to Dr Stambuli's death were summarised as follows:
a) He died of asphyxia, due to manual strangulation (pressure on the neck). b) Toxicological tests have also shown that he was poisoned with an organophosphate compound. c) The poisoning in b. above was unlikely to have been suicidal since there was also demonstrable evidence during the autopsy, of an act of manual strangulation.
d) Based on the size of his body and physical appearance, the findings suggest the following sequence of events: the late Dr Kalonga Stambuli was poisoned with an organophosphate compound, and then strangulated.
e) He was at the time of his death not suffering from any overt disease process, such as hypertension, that could explain his sudden demise.
The postmortem examination was done by Dr Charles Dzamalala. The histological examination and the compilation of this report were done by both Dr Dzamalala and Professor Liomba.
As a moderator of Malawitalk, not least an advocate of freedom of expression, a parent and a bread winner, I could not bear to think of such a scene as described above. One would think it had been determined to heap upon the perpetrators, all the varieties of bodily pain, for the purpose of blunting the feelings of the mind; and yet, in this very point to show the power of human prejudice and greed.
Death, at least in this case, is a sure ground of evidence, and the proportion of effort to conceal this enigma and to accept it as normal ,will not only confirm but if possible will even aggravate the public's suspicion of their misery in the transit and desire to free themselves through open debates.
Through the dedicated efforts of discussants, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of the scope of events leading to the death of Dr Kalonga Stambuli. We now know that this grotesque and hideous development bares all the hallmarks of an assassination and not suicidal as was officially reported.
Concerned individuals of my forum have now narrowed down events up to his last known point .Reference has been made by other concerned citizens both in private and public to the extent that names were identified. Through these revelations, the cyber public has been informed of the last people known to have last been seen with late Dr Stambuli on the eve of 28 December 2003.
The danger here is no longer that of concealing the death of Dr Stambuli or the manner in which he died, but the potential to have these merciless killers claiming another life in the event of nothing being done with a sense of urgency. It could be that of an opponent a witness or indeed that of an individual who may hold information relating to the death of Dr Stambuli and many others who might have faced similar fates.
The most frightening thing above all was not that Dr Kalonga Stambuli died, but that his death did not occur as a result of being shot at. It is neither that of being bludgeoned to death with sharp objects nor a car accident. It was death through poisoning and later through strangulation.
The perpetrators did not need to arm themselves. They might have been walking in their business suits and chauffer driven cars. These are people who cannot raise suspicions. Their weapon is an evil mind. All they need to do is to pick their victim and seal his/her fate. Your Excellency, these dangerous people are on the street. They don't move around with spears and arrows, neither do they move with their pangas and machetes. They move around with their hideous plans concealed in their heads.
They are preying on their next victim and it wont be long before another victim is claimed. As was the case in Mwanza murders, the key to unlocking the truth met insurmountable challenges in that two key figures in the name of late John Ngwiri and Mac Williams Kamwana were either systematically alienated or died through natural causes. Through that unfortunate scenarial,the nation has paid a price in that vicious people belonging to the gallows and cells are now freed.To add insult to injury,they could be in public offices holding positions of high repute.
In the case, of Dr Stambuli, many of those who may provide useful information including the last people to have been seen in Dr Stambuli's company are still alive. For that reason, I am of the opinion that the journey to unearth the truth will not take long.
I am therefore asking your office to use its powers vested and conferred on it by the might and fullness of our constitution to establish a commission of enquiry to be headed by an independent high court judge to participate in the common cause that brings us together in understanding this persistent and pervasive assault on human rights, against the commodification in human beings being regarded as valueless objects to be bartered and bonded-willy nilly as part of their larger struggle to suffocate human rights and human dignity .
The appended autopsy’s report further reveals diverging differences from the official account. It is a sad reality that the victim was barely four months into the country bubbled with a sense of patriotism, idealism and talent.
I spoke to hon Atupele Muluzi a colleague of Dr Stambuli who while in London at the time of his death told me how productive Dr Stambuli was, in that he was able to conduct business in excess of K150 million within his short stint at the investment bank where he was chief Executive.
It was here that I also learned that he had already entered into market expansion strategies which would have seen the Malawian Investment bank opening its branch in Zambia and Mauritius respectively.
Perhaps I also need to bring this to your Excellency's attention that Malawitalk forum where these grotesque revelations were made, was initiated by late Dr Kalonga Stambuli in 2001 with an aim of underwriting his own individual contributions to the process of mobilizing Malawian energies towards the direction of more stimulating and constructive thought with the hope that he might just be able to ignite the spark for new ideological dimensions to address domestic inadequacies in communication and freedom of expression. By providing bandwidth that support the country's desires for expression, Dr Stambuli thought he could achieve his dream without filing any claim on the country's fiscal resources.
Without doubt, by now Dr Stambuli would have achieved allot for his employers and his country at large ,above all, he would have been the moderator of Malawitalk.Sadly though, this is now a forgone dream
The people, who are troubled with his death and by copy of his tragic death are now demanding a full enquiry, are neither his former employers nor his former political associates. They are not his friends and relatives neither are his political friends and foes. They are intellectuals, young professionals, Malawian Diasporas, ordinary men and women who value life and hold it in high esteem.
These are dedicated men and women who are desperate to secure the necessities of life and are willing to leave their western comforts to go back home and participate in the development of their country. Instead, their lives are ruined by psychological exploitation rooted in fears and suspicions of what may happen to them should they wish to speak their mind or act according to the dictates of democracy only to be interupted by those who are addicted to malice and hatred campaigns as opposed to progressive ideas.
An approach that will allow us to prevent the problems to begin with, as I described, to protect the next victims who are holding similar key information and are mentioned by name in Dr Kalonga Stambuli's infamous corruption dossier, who are forgotten and may disappear without a trace, to bring the perpetrators to justice, to address the issue from both an international and a domestic perspective, and to build partnerships between governments, parliamentarians, NGOs, and all stakeholders likely to get involved in this effort of bringing confidence and trust into the public's hearts is needed now more than before.
Your Excellency,
We have heard from the media how your own life has been targeted, divided and polarized our partisan political process has become. Consequently, many caring, creative and energetic people who would have contributed to this democratic process have disengaged from the political process as they flee for their own lives inpursuit of safety,opportunities and knowledge. This result in "political depression" - a belief that there are no options for transforming our political system continues to haunt the uncleared public.
As the country that has seen itself rising from economic ashes and gubernatorial oblivion to the levels where trust and confidence have been installed, as a nation that has seen your leadership playing the transparency and zero tolerance on corruption card which resulted into various government successes such as the current debt cancellation, the public now long for the emergence of new and inspiring collaborative response which may provide answers to the questions currently being asked.
What happened? Why did it happen? How did it happen? But why? But why, and why? As citizens but most importantly potential victims, we are asking:
"How do we heal our political depression and engage in politics without losing our soul?"
How do we engage ourselves in celebrations following economic successes, when large parts of our society in the name of eastern region is mourning the death of a health, exposed, well traveled and educated son whose fate was decide by few individuals who could not grasp the notion of free speech in a democratic society?
While asking these questions, we are aware that your government is built on security, justice and development -the true pillars of good governance.
In this your Excellency,
we have common cause, and by working together, we can create a critical mass of advocacy on behalf of that common cause. A common cause where renewing our dream of democracy through establishing of commission of enquiries of the scale being requested by these concerned and terrified discussants can foster a healing process of our individual and collective post-partisan fears and finding new ways to reengage in the political process that belives in the power of reason.
As a moderator of Malawitalk,I should have considered myself wanting in that necessary portion of duty which I owe to my discussants and subscribers of Malawitalk, not least the forum’s walk-in interface visitors and to my country. There is no accusation made against the gentlemen being linked to the death of Dr Stambuli; but by bringing forward the consideration of such a mighty object and not concealing the tragedy, we unite with the person of sensibility, that an action in the direction of an enquiry into the mysterious death of Dr Stambuli is necessary to prevent the next death against a conduit or witness, as founded in rectitude and universal benevolence.
The great cause, it has been stated, of the reason why Dr Stambuli was killed alongside evidence found on his death bed, of a note not written in his own handwritings but capturing words suggesting thus-"very sinful" and its subsequent timing of his alleged compendium of alleged corrupt activities leakage to the press in particular –the dispatch news paper, offers us reason to suspect that his “sins” might have been sparked by his interest to keep a record of things he thought were out of order.
The assumption and impression being formed here, was that Dr Kalonga Stambuli deserved to die as his killers might have considered him to be very profligate and dissolute in his effusive manners. For sure, we do not know the breadth, width and depth of these unpardonable sins which could not even be redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
There is no doubt about Dr Kalonga being the author of the infamous corruption compendium which puts several allegants in positions of redicule. More than three individuals of standing character in society received personal copies from Dr Stambuli and were instructed to keep it for posterity. While at that, I am also mindful of a possibility of exaggerating issues on the part of the victim to clear himself from the corrupt activities he might have been part of.
Indeed some of the issues raised might have been worked upon to inflict injury to those who might have costed suffering and pain to himself when he lost his lucrative post in government. Revenge as a motive cannot be ruled out on the part of Dr Stambuli.He was badily mistreated.He had the conventional right to be angry.
The principal result of this attempt is twofold. First of all, I claim that the logic of induction is not essentially different from, for example, deductive logic, as long as we are prepared to broaden the usual conception of logic somewhat. This frees the way for the application of any investigative and related forensic method put forward, to aid the analysis of reasoning with general rules and exceptions to inductive reasoning.
The second point is a distinction between and logical characterisation of two different forms of induction: explanatory induction, which aims at explaining observed cases as is the case when Dr Stambuli compares notes of the alleged corrupt middlemen while conducting government business, and confirmatory induction, where the inductive conjectures are confirmed by hearsays as noted in his opening statement where he alleges that the principal accused had bullying habits while schooling at Kapili parish primary school .
However without explaining the latter,Dr Stambuli himself had a habit of exaggerating issues to make a point. On one account, he once told me that moderation of Malawitalk was done by an expensive moderation machine which costed him quite a chunk of money.But when an opportunity arose for me to assume the role of moderator, I discovered that the process was so basic that it could be manned remotely.
To this effect, Malawitalk has been moderated from six different positions around the world where regular discussants have been offered an opportunity to moderate the mailing list within the comfort of their homes and offices. This does not mean, everything he wrote was grossly exegerated therefore his own making. The need to follow some of the non personal issues raised in his compendium still stand.
The basis of requesting an establishment of a commission of enquiry is therefore not based on the strength of Dr Stambuli's corruption dossier. The view of most people is that this can be easily pursued by the anti corruption bureau.
However the principal cause and the moral of this petition is Dr Stambuli's ill treatment as we can imagine the agents of darkness squeezing not only his right to express himself fully but as much as possible from their exertions to have him silenced through means of unnatural death –
for on 13 May 2002 ,Dr Stambuli himself wrote
" I share the common view that serious doubts arise when those who have had a clear architectural involvement in shaping the country's past wish to be given the mandate for offices with higher leverage without admitting to their misdemeanors in a less powerful office. Democracy is about transparency and accountability and it is my view that those who wish to promote its virtues must themselves be transparent and accountable to the society they wish to serve"
But Your Excellency, People want to be governed well, and to have a say in what happens in their lives. They want to be safe. They want the chance to earn a decent living for themselves and their families. And they want to be treated fairly by their government and public officials. These aspirations are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Millennium Declaration of 2000. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Millennium Declaration of 2000 have enshrined the need for freedom of speech and access to information.
These are the foundations for decent living condition, sustainable lives and good governance. They are the backbone of our democracy the vision of the nations and hope for the disadvantaged groups. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have also allowed nation to incorporate the people in decision making and development participation.
It is for this reason, that despite my own inadequacies and weaknesses to such a task,I am left with no option but to submit this humble request on behalf of Malawitalk, the request to request the honor of your office to establish a commission of enquiry to answer questions that are being raised in respect of Dr Kalonga Stambuli's death.
Your Excellency,
The ability of citizens to make their voices heard and hold their governments to account is fundamental to good government. Its absence fosters an environment in which corruption and conjectures can flourish, and citizens are unable to assess the decisions of their leaders, or make informed choices about who they elect to serve as their representatives.
Within this context, I am urging your government which has taken an interest in promoting accountable governance and transparency to respond to the wishes of the people by freeing them from their museum of fears with reference from our Ironic past
Yours most obedient citizen,
Bright Mac Everson Malopa
Your Excellency the State president ,
RE: URGENT NEED TO ESTABLISH A COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY
Reading some of the postings forwarded and posted to Malawi's discussion forums notably Malawitalk and Nyasanet, I was particularly struck by a debate which reproduced an autopsy report of Late Dr Stambuli, first by an unknown author on Malawitalk but latter by Mr. Tom Likambale [an alleged friend of the deceased] who posted it on Nyasanet. In the autopsy report ref; CPD/COM/036/03, circumstances that led to Dr Stambuli's death were summarised as follows:
a) He died of asphyxia, due to manual strangulation (pressure on the neck). b) Toxicological tests have also shown that he was poisoned with an organophosphate compound. c) The poisoning in b. above was unlikely to have been suicidal since there was also demonstrable evidence during the autopsy, of an act of manual strangulation.
d) Based on the size of his body and physical appearance, the findings suggest the following sequence of events: the late Dr Kalonga Stambuli was poisoned with an organophosphate compound, and then strangulated.
e) He was at the time of his death not suffering from any overt disease process, such as hypertension, that could explain his sudden demise.
The postmortem examination was done by Dr Charles Dzamalala. The histological examination and the compilation of this report were done by both Dr Dzamalala and Professor Liomba.
As a moderator of Malawitalk, not least an advocate of freedom of expression, a parent and a bread winner, I could not bear to think of such a scene as described above. One would think it had been determined to heap upon the perpetrators, all the varieties of bodily pain, for the purpose of blunting the feelings of the mind; and yet, in this very point to show the power of human prejudice and greed.
Death, at least in this case, is a sure ground of evidence, and the proportion of effort to conceal this enigma and to accept it as normal ,will not only confirm but if possible will even aggravate the public's suspicion of their misery in the transit and desire to free themselves through open debates.
Through the dedicated efforts of discussants, we now have a more comprehensive understanding of the scope of events leading to the death of Dr Kalonga Stambuli. We now know that this grotesque and hideous development bares all the hallmarks of an assassination and not suicidal as was officially reported.
Concerned individuals of my forum have now narrowed down events up to his last known point .Reference has been made by other concerned citizens both in private and public to the extent that names were identified. Through these revelations, the cyber public has been informed of the last people known to have last been seen with late Dr Stambuli on the eve of 28 December 2003.
The danger here is no longer that of concealing the death of Dr Stambuli or the manner in which he died, but the potential to have these merciless killers claiming another life in the event of nothing being done with a sense of urgency. It could be that of an opponent a witness or indeed that of an individual who may hold information relating to the death of Dr Stambuli and many others who might have faced similar fates.
The most frightening thing above all was not that Dr Kalonga Stambuli died, but that his death did not occur as a result of being shot at. It is neither that of being bludgeoned to death with sharp objects nor a car accident. It was death through poisoning and later through strangulation.
The perpetrators did not need to arm themselves. They might have been walking in their business suits and chauffer driven cars. These are people who cannot raise suspicions. Their weapon is an evil mind. All they need to do is to pick their victim and seal his/her fate. Your Excellency, these dangerous people are on the street. They don't move around with spears and arrows, neither do they move with their pangas and machetes. They move around with their hideous plans concealed in their heads.
They are preying on their next victim and it wont be long before another victim is claimed. As was the case in Mwanza murders, the key to unlocking the truth met insurmountable challenges in that two key figures in the name of late John Ngwiri and Mac Williams Kamwana were either systematically alienated or died through natural causes. Through that unfortunate scenarial,the nation has paid a price in that vicious people belonging to the gallows and cells are now freed.To add insult to injury,they could be in public offices holding positions of high repute.
In the case, of Dr Stambuli, many of those who may provide useful information including the last people to have been seen in Dr Stambuli's company are still alive. For that reason, I am of the opinion that the journey to unearth the truth will not take long.
I am therefore asking your office to use its powers vested and conferred on it by the might and fullness of our constitution to establish a commission of enquiry to be headed by an independent high court judge to participate in the common cause that brings us together in understanding this persistent and pervasive assault on human rights, against the commodification in human beings being regarded as valueless objects to be bartered and bonded-willy nilly as part of their larger struggle to suffocate human rights and human dignity .
The appended autopsy’s report further reveals diverging differences from the official account. It is a sad reality that the victim was barely four months into the country bubbled with a sense of patriotism, idealism and talent.
I spoke to hon Atupele Muluzi a colleague of Dr Stambuli who while in London at the time of his death told me how productive Dr Stambuli was, in that he was able to conduct business in excess of K150 million within his short stint at the investment bank where he was chief Executive.
It was here that I also learned that he had already entered into market expansion strategies which would have seen the Malawian Investment bank opening its branch in Zambia and Mauritius respectively.
Perhaps I also need to bring this to your Excellency's attention that Malawitalk forum where these grotesque revelations were made, was initiated by late Dr Kalonga Stambuli in 2001 with an aim of underwriting his own individual contributions to the process of mobilizing Malawian energies towards the direction of more stimulating and constructive thought with the hope that he might just be able to ignite the spark for new ideological dimensions to address domestic inadequacies in communication and freedom of expression. By providing bandwidth that support the country's desires for expression, Dr Stambuli thought he could achieve his dream without filing any claim on the country's fiscal resources.
Without doubt, by now Dr Stambuli would have achieved allot for his employers and his country at large ,above all, he would have been the moderator of Malawitalk.Sadly though, this is now a forgone dream
The people, who are troubled with his death and by copy of his tragic death are now demanding a full enquiry, are neither his former employers nor his former political associates. They are not his friends and relatives neither are his political friends and foes. They are intellectuals, young professionals, Malawian Diasporas, ordinary men and women who value life and hold it in high esteem.
These are dedicated men and women who are desperate to secure the necessities of life and are willing to leave their western comforts to go back home and participate in the development of their country. Instead, their lives are ruined by psychological exploitation rooted in fears and suspicions of what may happen to them should they wish to speak their mind or act according to the dictates of democracy only to be interupted by those who are addicted to malice and hatred campaigns as opposed to progressive ideas.
An approach that will allow us to prevent the problems to begin with, as I described, to protect the next victims who are holding similar key information and are mentioned by name in Dr Kalonga Stambuli's infamous corruption dossier, who are forgotten and may disappear without a trace, to bring the perpetrators to justice, to address the issue from both an international and a domestic perspective, and to build partnerships between governments, parliamentarians, NGOs, and all stakeholders likely to get involved in this effort of bringing confidence and trust into the public's hearts is needed now more than before.
Your Excellency,
We have heard from the media how your own life has been targeted, divided and polarized our partisan political process has become. Consequently, many caring, creative and energetic people who would have contributed to this democratic process have disengaged from the political process as they flee for their own lives inpursuit of safety,opportunities and knowledge. This result in "political depression" - a belief that there are no options for transforming our political system continues to haunt the uncleared public.
As the country that has seen itself rising from economic ashes and gubernatorial oblivion to the levels where trust and confidence have been installed, as a nation that has seen your leadership playing the transparency and zero tolerance on corruption card which resulted into various government successes such as the current debt cancellation, the public now long for the emergence of new and inspiring collaborative response which may provide answers to the questions currently being asked.
What happened? Why did it happen? How did it happen? But why? But why, and why? As citizens but most importantly potential victims, we are asking:
"How do we heal our political depression and engage in politics without losing our soul?"
How do we engage ourselves in celebrations following economic successes, when large parts of our society in the name of eastern region is mourning the death of a health, exposed, well traveled and educated son whose fate was decide by few individuals who could not grasp the notion of free speech in a democratic society?
While asking these questions, we are aware that your government is built on security, justice and development -the true pillars of good governance.
In this your Excellency,
we have common cause, and by working together, we can create a critical mass of advocacy on behalf of that common cause. A common cause where renewing our dream of democracy through establishing of commission of enquiries of the scale being requested by these concerned and terrified discussants can foster a healing process of our individual and collective post-partisan fears and finding new ways to reengage in the political process that belives in the power of reason.
As a moderator of Malawitalk,I should have considered myself wanting in that necessary portion of duty which I owe to my discussants and subscribers of Malawitalk, not least the forum’s walk-in interface visitors and to my country. There is no accusation made against the gentlemen being linked to the death of Dr Stambuli; but by bringing forward the consideration of such a mighty object and not concealing the tragedy, we unite with the person of sensibility, that an action in the direction of an enquiry into the mysterious death of Dr Stambuli is necessary to prevent the next death against a conduit or witness, as founded in rectitude and universal benevolence.
The great cause, it has been stated, of the reason why Dr Stambuli was killed alongside evidence found on his death bed, of a note not written in his own handwritings but capturing words suggesting thus-"very sinful" and its subsequent timing of his alleged compendium of alleged corrupt activities leakage to the press in particular –the dispatch news paper, offers us reason to suspect that his “sins” might have been sparked by his interest to keep a record of things he thought were out of order.
The assumption and impression being formed here, was that Dr Kalonga Stambuli deserved to die as his killers might have considered him to be very profligate and dissolute in his effusive manners. For sure, we do not know the breadth, width and depth of these unpardonable sins which could not even be redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
There is no doubt about Dr Kalonga being the author of the infamous corruption compendium which puts several allegants in positions of redicule. More than three individuals of standing character in society received personal copies from Dr Stambuli and were instructed to keep it for posterity. While at that, I am also mindful of a possibility of exaggerating issues on the part of the victim to clear himself from the corrupt activities he might have been part of.
Indeed some of the issues raised might have been worked upon to inflict injury to those who might have costed suffering and pain to himself when he lost his lucrative post in government. Revenge as a motive cannot be ruled out on the part of Dr Stambuli.He was badily mistreated.He had the conventional right to be angry.
The principal result of this attempt is twofold. First of all, I claim that the logic of induction is not essentially different from, for example, deductive logic, as long as we are prepared to broaden the usual conception of logic somewhat. This frees the way for the application of any investigative and related forensic method put forward, to aid the analysis of reasoning with general rules and exceptions to inductive reasoning.
The second point is a distinction between and logical characterisation of two different forms of induction: explanatory induction, which aims at explaining observed cases as is the case when Dr Stambuli compares notes of the alleged corrupt middlemen while conducting government business, and confirmatory induction, where the inductive conjectures are confirmed by hearsays as noted in his opening statement where he alleges that the principal accused had bullying habits while schooling at Kapili parish primary school .
However without explaining the latter,Dr Stambuli himself had a habit of exaggerating issues to make a point. On one account, he once told me that moderation of Malawitalk was done by an expensive moderation machine which costed him quite a chunk of money.But when an opportunity arose for me to assume the role of moderator, I discovered that the process was so basic that it could be manned remotely.
To this effect, Malawitalk has been moderated from six different positions around the world where regular discussants have been offered an opportunity to moderate the mailing list within the comfort of their homes and offices. This does not mean, everything he wrote was grossly exegerated therefore his own making. The need to follow some of the non personal issues raised in his compendium still stand.
The basis of requesting an establishment of a commission of enquiry is therefore not based on the strength of Dr Stambuli's corruption dossier. The view of most people is that this can be easily pursued by the anti corruption bureau.
However the principal cause and the moral of this petition is Dr Stambuli's ill treatment as we can imagine the agents of darkness squeezing not only his right to express himself fully but as much as possible from their exertions to have him silenced through means of unnatural death –
for on 13 May 2002 ,Dr Stambuli himself wrote
" I share the common view that serious doubts arise when those who have had a clear architectural involvement in shaping the country's past wish to be given the mandate for offices with higher leverage without admitting to their misdemeanors in a less powerful office. Democracy is about transparency and accountability and it is my view that those who wish to promote its virtues must themselves be transparent and accountable to the society they wish to serve"
But Your Excellency, People want to be governed well, and to have a say in what happens in their lives. They want to be safe. They want the chance to earn a decent living for themselves and their families. And they want to be treated fairly by their government and public officials. These aspirations are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Millennium Declaration of 2000. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Millennium Declaration of 2000 have enshrined the need for freedom of speech and access to information.
These are the foundations for decent living condition, sustainable lives and good governance. They are the backbone of our democracy the vision of the nations and hope for the disadvantaged groups. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have also allowed nation to incorporate the people in decision making and development participation.
It is for this reason, that despite my own inadequacies and weaknesses to such a task,I am left with no option but to submit this humble request on behalf of Malawitalk, the request to request the honor of your office to establish a commission of enquiry to answer questions that are being raised in respect of Dr Kalonga Stambuli's death.
Your Excellency,
The ability of citizens to make their voices heard and hold their governments to account is fundamental to good government. Its absence fosters an environment in which corruption and conjectures can flourish, and citizens are unable to assess the decisions of their leaders, or make informed choices about who they elect to serve as their representatives.
Within this context, I am urging your government which has taken an interest in promoting accountable governance and transparency to respond to the wishes of the people by freeing them from their museum of fears with reference from our Ironic past
Yours most obedient citizen,
Bright Mac Everson Malopa
Monday, November 13, 2006
DR MULUZI-PLEASE ACCEPT THE STATE PRESIDENT’S OLIVE BRANCH,
Coming from a Zambian independence celebrations, the president spoke well of the event. He told the nation how he found it exciting to see the former head of state in that country taking part in the national celebrations. He also hinted on how he wished he could have a chance to delegate some of his international duties to the former head of state.
As I was reading the article on nation online, I was interrupted by a TV casting footage which was featuring a documentary on Iraq. It showed one account how in the deadliest attack, gunmen in five vehicles attacked a convoy of buses carrying police recruits near the northern city of Baqouba, killing more than 15 and injuring 25 others.
A series of bombs also exploded at a Baghdad market and bakery packed with holiday shoppers, killing more than nine people and wounding several others. As the program went on, it turned out that the violence was not between the armed resistant and the occupation forces, it was rather between Iraqis and Iraqis.
It was shias on sunis and more than chilling, the shocking scenes appeared to have had the blessing of politicians both in government and the opposition.
When those disgusting images of dismembered bodies and faces reflected in my mind, as I remember seeing Several bodies found dumped in Baghdad streets or in the Tigris River, I looked around to see who was seating next to me,only to find my lovely one year old daughter Zinzi in her pram and Ngaileka ,my four year old son. I immediately hugged them and told myself, how lucky they were to be called Malawians.
I imagine us walking by the shore at our favorite spot in Salima, and then imagine another driving from Nsanje to Karonga to the tidal basin of friendly people.
I picture us walking beneath the shadows of abject poverty, cast by the Mountain of Despair,yet despite criss crossing through the valleys and hills inhabited by the bantus of different parantage,languages and culture,I imagined oneness.I picture us meeting Mr Ken Ng’oma, who at his peak time was considered the most power full man, I consider us meeting Mr Ishmael wadi, who at one time could cause panic, from Mr wadi to Mr Kaliwo and then my good friend Ralph Kasambara, these people had one thing in common, their offices made them the most hated people in certain political sectors yet nothing had happened to them when they were relieved from their offices.
But gazing up at the flames of Hope, and reading the quotes of our national anthem thus:
“join together all our hearts as one”
And at some point, I imagined my talkative son asking me "Daddy, why is nothing happening to them like what is happening to differing groups in iraq?These people no longer hold public offices therefore public security has been withdrawn yet they walk free. By their own accounts, they were people frequently racked with political doubt, and not without flaws, and yet they enjoy their private lives without their former foes compromising their security ?
The answer lies in the Malawian democracy whose spirit champions the task of healing the festering wounds of a nation's original sin.
The spirit that gives courage to the faint of heart, by dint of vision, and determination, and most of all faith in the redeeming power of love, under the auspices of warm heart of Africa. The spirit that endures the humiliation of arrest, the loneliness of a prison cell, the constant threats to voters lives, until it finally inspires a nation to transform itself, and begin to live up to the meaning of its creed through a well thoughtful economic turnaround.
I discovered the warmth and sense of community that the people of Malawi possess - their sense of hopefulness even in the face of great difficulty. I discovered the beauty of the land, a beauty that haunts you long after you've left.
For all the progress we have made, there are times when the land of our dreams recedes from us - when we are lost, wandering spirits, content with our suspicions and our angers, our long-held grudges and petty disputes, our frantic diversions and tribal allegiances.
And yet, by sustaining the democratic spirit no matter how fragile it has been, we have proved the warring, divided and toned nations, that the love of our country beckons us, and that we will find it not across distant hills or within some hidden valley to go the Iraq way, but rather we will find it somewhere in our hearts that there’s progress in all fronts, that though with teething problems, our democracy is growing and that whenever there are differences, we resort to settle our differences in courts as opposed to machetes and pangas.
But for all the progress that has been made, we must surely acknowledge that we have not yet fulfilled our potential - that the hopefulness of the post-colonial era replaced by repression is a regrettable fact. That a post repressive administration was replaced by a decade of corruption and mob justice is another sad reality and that political despair, and that true economic freedom has not yet been won for those struggling to live on less than a few dollars a day, for those who have fallen prey to HIV/AIDS or malaria, to those ordinary citizens who continue to find themselves trapped in the crossfire of political depression needs a united front that brings the nation together.
There is no doubt that what Malawi has accomplished within this short period is both impressive and inspiring. Among African nations, we remain a model for representative democracy - a place where many different ethnic factions have found a way to live and work together in peace and stability. You enjoy a robust civil society; a press that's free, and a strong independent judiciary. When people are judged by merit, not connections, when the best and brightest can lead the country, people will work hard, and the entire economy will grow - everyone will benefit and more resources will be available for all, not just select groups.
As the former president reflects on the incumbent president’s reconciliation, when he responds to the call of national duty, he should take the state president’s approach seriously. I know that honoring his legacy whilst leaving active politics for good may seem like an impossible task - an effort bigger than he can imagine - but sometimes all it takes to move us there is doing what little you can to right the wrongs you see.
In today's Malawi - a Malawi already more open and less repressive than in the past is the envy and pride of many –It is a Malawi that has been courageous enough to confront its past this is the sort of Malawi the former head of state need to be proud of. A Malawi he can ably stand for and defend it in the international scenes as the current president seriously considers giving him the mantle to represent Malawi.Dr Muluzi, time for amangwetu is over ,
Its time to respond to the national duty of raising the flag and tell the world that Malawi is indeed the warm heart of africa
As I was reading the article on nation online, I was interrupted by a TV casting footage which was featuring a documentary on Iraq. It showed one account how in the deadliest attack, gunmen in five vehicles attacked a convoy of buses carrying police recruits near the northern city of Baqouba, killing more than 15 and injuring 25 others.
A series of bombs also exploded at a Baghdad market and bakery packed with holiday shoppers, killing more than nine people and wounding several others. As the program went on, it turned out that the violence was not between the armed resistant and the occupation forces, it was rather between Iraqis and Iraqis.
It was shias on sunis and more than chilling, the shocking scenes appeared to have had the blessing of politicians both in government and the opposition.
When those disgusting images of dismembered bodies and faces reflected in my mind, as I remember seeing Several bodies found dumped in Baghdad streets or in the Tigris River, I looked around to see who was seating next to me,only to find my lovely one year old daughter Zinzi in her pram and Ngaileka ,my four year old son. I immediately hugged them and told myself, how lucky they were to be called Malawians.
I imagine us walking by the shore at our favorite spot in Salima, and then imagine another driving from Nsanje to Karonga to the tidal basin of friendly people.
I picture us walking beneath the shadows of abject poverty, cast by the Mountain of Despair,yet despite criss crossing through the valleys and hills inhabited by the bantus of different parantage,languages and culture,I imagined oneness.I picture us meeting Mr Ken Ng’oma, who at his peak time was considered the most power full man, I consider us meeting Mr Ishmael wadi, who at one time could cause panic, from Mr wadi to Mr Kaliwo and then my good friend Ralph Kasambara, these people had one thing in common, their offices made them the most hated people in certain political sectors yet nothing had happened to them when they were relieved from their offices.
But gazing up at the flames of Hope, and reading the quotes of our national anthem thus:
“join together all our hearts as one”
And at some point, I imagined my talkative son asking me "Daddy, why is nothing happening to them like what is happening to differing groups in iraq?These people no longer hold public offices therefore public security has been withdrawn yet they walk free. By their own accounts, they were people frequently racked with political doubt, and not without flaws, and yet they enjoy their private lives without their former foes compromising their security ?
The answer lies in the Malawian democracy whose spirit champions the task of healing the festering wounds of a nation's original sin.
The spirit that gives courage to the faint of heart, by dint of vision, and determination, and most of all faith in the redeeming power of love, under the auspices of warm heart of Africa. The spirit that endures the humiliation of arrest, the loneliness of a prison cell, the constant threats to voters lives, until it finally inspires a nation to transform itself, and begin to live up to the meaning of its creed through a well thoughtful economic turnaround.
I discovered the warmth and sense of community that the people of Malawi possess - their sense of hopefulness even in the face of great difficulty. I discovered the beauty of the land, a beauty that haunts you long after you've left.
For all the progress we have made, there are times when the land of our dreams recedes from us - when we are lost, wandering spirits, content with our suspicions and our angers, our long-held grudges and petty disputes, our frantic diversions and tribal allegiances.
And yet, by sustaining the democratic spirit no matter how fragile it has been, we have proved the warring, divided and toned nations, that the love of our country beckons us, and that we will find it not across distant hills or within some hidden valley to go the Iraq way, but rather we will find it somewhere in our hearts that there’s progress in all fronts, that though with teething problems, our democracy is growing and that whenever there are differences, we resort to settle our differences in courts as opposed to machetes and pangas.
But for all the progress that has been made, we must surely acknowledge that we have not yet fulfilled our potential - that the hopefulness of the post-colonial era replaced by repression is a regrettable fact. That a post repressive administration was replaced by a decade of corruption and mob justice is another sad reality and that political despair, and that true economic freedom has not yet been won for those struggling to live on less than a few dollars a day, for those who have fallen prey to HIV/AIDS or malaria, to those ordinary citizens who continue to find themselves trapped in the crossfire of political depression needs a united front that brings the nation together.
There is no doubt that what Malawi has accomplished within this short period is both impressive and inspiring. Among African nations, we remain a model for representative democracy - a place where many different ethnic factions have found a way to live and work together in peace and stability. You enjoy a robust civil society; a press that's free, and a strong independent judiciary. When people are judged by merit, not connections, when the best and brightest can lead the country, people will work hard, and the entire economy will grow - everyone will benefit and more resources will be available for all, not just select groups.
As the former president reflects on the incumbent president’s reconciliation, when he responds to the call of national duty, he should take the state president’s approach seriously. I know that honoring his legacy whilst leaving active politics for good may seem like an impossible task - an effort bigger than he can imagine - but sometimes all it takes to move us there is doing what little you can to right the wrongs you see.
In today's Malawi - a Malawi already more open and less repressive than in the past is the envy and pride of many –It is a Malawi that has been courageous enough to confront its past this is the sort of Malawi the former head of state need to be proud of. A Malawi he can ably stand for and defend it in the international scenes as the current president seriously considers giving him the mantle to represent Malawi.Dr Muluzi, time for amangwetu is over ,
Its time to respond to the national duty of raising the flag and tell the world that Malawi is indeed the warm heart of africa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
