AFTER enduring 127 days in prison for a politically-motivated trumped-up charge of treason, Mr Hakainde Hichilema walked to freedom. Had the matter proceeded to trial and Mr Hichilema found guilty of the capital offence, the maximum penalty would have been a death sentence. But on 16 August 2017, the day the treason trial was set to commence in the Lusaka High Court, the National Prosecutions Authority entered a nolle prosequei and Mr Hichilema was set free. He and his five co-accused, Hamusonde Hamaleka, Muleya Hachinda, Laston Mulilanduba, Pretorious Haloba and Wallace Chakawa, had endured 1 ..read more

“Money and power attract friends. But it’s not you that they are friends with – just your money and power.” Auliq-Ice King Belshazzar, so we are told, threw the mother of all parties where fine wine flowed freely, and he and his minions swigged more than their fair glasses. Under the influence, the king decreed that vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought so that he, his hangers-on, wives and concubines should drink from them. The holy vessels were duly brought, and the king, his guests, wives, and concubines drank from them ..read more

Old habits die hard so they say. The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) which found its way back in power is a party with a checkered history. Imagine this: The nation was just greeted by a news bulletin Ministers Gadama, Matenje, and Member of Parliament Chiwanga have died in a car accident in Mwanza saying they met their fate in their attempt to skip the border. Blue lie. The MCP operatives, strong evidence indicates, actually murdered them in cold blood. There were many such stories back in the day. Today, the MCP has returned with the same murderous tricks. Picture this: Kalindo is arrested but t ..read more

Malawi Congress Party ( MCP) Secretary-General Eisenhower Mkaka, has described the actions by Lilongwe City Council who sealed the entrance to the Party’s headquarters premises in Lilongwe over unpaid city rates as unfortunate. Officials from the City Council accompanied by Malawi Police sealed the entrance in the early hours of Thursday, November 25th, 2021 after they slapped the party with MK265 million bill in unpaid city rates in 2017. However, when contacted by the local media to comment on the matter, Mkaka said that as a party they are handling it as the City Council went to Court and ..read more

“The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them.” – Lois McMaster Bujold. Being very good at what one does comes with a risk. The sickness of the best doctor in town is a good example; who will treat them when they need a doctor? Loss of faith of the godliest priest; who will minister to them? Or let’s say the best surgeon needs a complicated operation; who will operate on them? Closer home, let’s say it’s none of the above, but the best detective of the land gets murdered; who will investigate and catch their killer(s)? This is precisely the situation late B ..read more

In a town far far away, lived an engineer. The economy was in bad shape, and he was unemployed, and since everyone was struggling, there weren’t even opportunities for ganyu (part-time jobs) to sustain him. Not one to wallow in self-pity, he looked around. Soon, he observed that while engineering was not a priority and given the hostile economic situation they had been back-burnered, only one profession was trending. This was the provision of health services. When people or their kith or kin fell sick, they were still paying to see a doctor. Hence the economic downturn notwithstanding, clinics ..read more

When will rich countries take responsibility? Last week, ahead of Cop26 in Glasgow, it was revealed that many of them had lobbied against the UN’s climate recommendations – namely that urgent action is needed. At the same time, some questioned the need to fund poorer countries to adapt to the effects of climate change – despite the failure by developed countries to deliver the $100bn (£75bn) they had pledged. Africa has done little to create the climate crisis. Yet the locust plagues in the Horn of Africa, the first climate change famine in Madagascar and the water crises in southern Africa ar ..read more

Constitutionalism is the hallmark of our democratic order in Malawi.  It is actually the oxygen of our democratic state. To live in a democratic Malawi founded on constitutional democracy, we need to jealously guard the independence and separation of the three arms of government: the executive/presidency, parliament, and judiciary. Parliament ought to be sufficiently funded and should be meeting as and when scheduled. The day the executive chooses when to fund parliament and when it should meet will be the beginning of dictatorship and not democracy. Equally so our courts ought to be su ..read more

This post is a lamentation…a call for Malawians not to waste their time applying for government positions. There is no merit whatsoever as they claim in making public appointments. Doing interviews is simply to deceive Malawians to think they are different. There is no difference in the way the DPP guys were doing and how Onse Alliance are doing. They claim to conduct interviews when they have their own preferred candidate. This country is now for them. No one should talk about merit in this country. There is no merit in this country.  Consider this below: When Henry Kachaje was appointed ..read more

I would like to comment on the cutting down of trees in road reserves in Lilongwe City to pave way for the construction of a flagship 6 lane highway and its associated facilities. 1. Lilongwe City has a detailed Urban Structure/Master Plan. The plan clearly shows land use plans, including road reserves. 2. The plan was duly approved by the relevant authority as such it is a binding legal document. 3. Some ornamental trees were planted in road reserves with an understanding that those which will interfere with road expansion will be removed. 4. Trees being cut are the ones which were planted in ..read more