Malawi must learn and appreciate more about role of the VEEP

By Janet Karim

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 16:15-17

Of the six presidents that Malawi has had since the dawn of independence and 30 years later, the dawn of democracy, Malawi has had 9 vice president and one second vice presidents. The vice president, an entity that was introduced into Malawi politics in 1993, is the second highest political position in Malawi. After 30 years of democratic rule, the country – leaders, party faithfuls and officials, and the general public have yet to warm up to this role called VP. When oh dear Malawi, will your people accept, appreciate, and reverence the Constitutionally ordained role of the Vice President? Some VPs have been removed or put in prison, others poured scorn upon or ridiculed, and one tragically died in a plane crash.

The Vice-President is elected on the same ticket with the President. The President can also appoint a Second Vice-President, if he desires. The position was first established in November 1994 to assist the President. However, the office has been mainly ceremonial as its sole purpose is to replace the president in his absence, death, or inability to hold office.

A brief run-through of Malawi’s treatment surely highlights two things; Malawians do not fully understand the role of the Vice President and secondly Malawians have yet to appreciate the important role of the Vice President in a democracy.

Kamuzu Banda – Under Malawi’s first president, Gwanda Chakuamba, fresh out of prison (1980-1993), accepted the appointment of the country’s first vice president. As VP candidate in the country’s first democratic presidential, parliamentary, and councilor elections, the Banda-Gwanda ticket under the MCP, lost to Bakili Muluzi’s United Democratic Party. After losing to the UDF, the MCP hopped to the sidelines. Attempts to recapture the presidency in 1999 failed despite the MCP having coalition with the AFORD party, gaining the momentum and support of the civil service. Soon after, a power struggle took place and Chakuamba was removed from the headship of the MCP, replace by John Tembo. He formed the Republican Party but failed again in 2004 to win the presidency. A short stint in Bingu’s government turned sour. Chakuamba died in 2016.

Bakili Muluzi – The first VP in democratic Malawi, was soft-spoken and powerful administrator Justin Malewezi. In my analysis, Malewezi is among the top three best vice presidents Malawi has had. He was methodical, thorough and played by the fair is fair ticket. As a female participating in the affairs of the country, it probably would have been forgotten or set aside, but as VP and head of delegation, he insisted that I be part of the government delegates to attend the 1994 UN International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo. “We need a reporter to come and tell the story.” He had seen my name on one of the documents and told his team to find me funding to attend. He also made sure there was a category called “Prominent Malawi Women” at the Constitutional Conference. Many of my professional colleagues (Justice Anastasia Msosa, Emmie Chanika, Alice Konyani, and others, although we were not in politics, were placed on that list). But the VP was a Chewa and not of the right faith; many UDF members wanted someone else to be second in command. By the time of Muluzi-Malewezi term, the VP was literary going to the office and reading the newspaper all day long. A scene that will repeat itself with other Malawi VPs.

Bakili Muluzi – Chakufa Chihana (2^nd VP). After the loss in 1994, Chakuamba was a strong voice in Malawi politics, even without being a member of parliament. To consolidate his base in the northern region and also to bring votes up in the Parliament, Muluzi impressed upon parliamentarians to create the post of Second Vice President. Chihana was the first and last 2^nd Vice President, mainly for two reasons. The first is that Malawi with a dwindling economy (privatization had led to the bleeding of factories once owned by Malawi during the one party rule of Dr. Banda), the country could ill-afford three people in the highest office in the land. The second was that, try as he did, having Chihana in the State House did not move the odometer in any good measure.

Bingu wa Mutharika – After his failed bid for a third term, Bakili Muluzi steered his party to accept the election of an economist to run the affairs of the country. This was a brilliant move by Muluzi. That economist was Bingu wa Mutharika. The steering went on to lean on Mutharika to accept Muluzi’a choice of Cassim Chilumpha as Vice President. Cassim is a Muslim and it did not take too much brains to put a wedge between president and his vice. Chilumpha was accused of attempting to assassinate Bingu, and soon another vice president was thrown in jail. By the time Bingu was running for re-election, in 2008 for the 2009 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, he had a different running mate, a woman. Bingu had by 2005 ditched the UDF, so jailing Chilumpha was not a problem since he formed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Bingu wa Mutharika – As calculating as Muluzi had been in selecting Bingu the economist (he brought food security back to the country), the economist read the Malawi voter loud and clear. This was that women turn up in large numbers to vote (a somewhat global phenomenon), and he chose as his running mate in the 2009 elections, a household name among business women in Malawi, Joyce Banda. Upon winning the 2004 elections, Bingu made Joyce Banda Women’s Ministry minister. He later promoted her to Foreign Affairs minister. A star performer (like Malewezi), Joyce Banda was in the lead for consideration for VP. For some reason, party representatives from the Thyolo base planted the seeds of distrust and hatred between the principal and his vice. To make it attractive, mention was made of the brother Arthur Peter Mutharika as a better replacement after him. APM at this time was justice minister and later foreign affairs minister. For the first time in Malawi history a sitting vice president formed a party while serving a president from another party. This was the People’s Party. VP Joyce Banda rose to the position of Malawi president, becoming the first woman in Malawi and SADC region, and the second woman in Africa. This development took place after President Bingu wa Mutharika passed away from cardiac arrest on April 5, 2012. There was strict opposition from within the high-ranking member of the DPP; but attempts to prevent Dr. Joyce Banda were put down when the military stepped to ensure that the normal process laid out in the Constitution are followed.

With that, Joyce Banda, rightly ascended to the State House, introducing new language in our midst: First Gentleman, the title for the spouse of the female president.

Long live genuine democracy.

Next week eyes turn to Joyce Banda’s Khumbo Kachale; Arthur Peter Mutharika’s – Saulos Chilima; and Everton Chimulirenji; and Lazarus Chakwera’s Saulos Chilima; and Michael Usi.