Malawi to observe 62 years of independence and has been a republican state for 60 years
By Janet Karim
26 When your children ask you what this ceremony means to you, 27 you must answer, ‘It’s the Passover sacrifice in the Lord’s honor. The Lord passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.'” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. – Exodus 12:26-27
Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. – Deuteronomy 11:19
6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. —Isaiah 62:6a
This year, 2026, Malawi marks the 60th Anniversary of attaining its Republican status while observing the 62nd Independence Anniversary on July 6. Different from previous years, the Malawi Government has announced that the occasion will be without any celebrations. According to Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Justin Saidi, the Malawi Government aims to conserve public resources and implement austerity measures. He further said in the statement released this week that President Peter Mutharika instructed that no funds should be drawn from public coffers for Independence Day festivities.
This is a great demonstration of the government’s commitment to “lead by example in implementing essential economic recovery and stabilization strategies.” He said that the President was dedicating the 2026 Independence Day observances to a national thanksgiving and supplication program. A laudable gesture indeed, as public resources should be allocated towards economic recovery efforts. However, because these two occasions (Independence and Republic Anniversaries) are important landmarks in our nation’s history and development, the statement stated that President Mutharika is “urging religious leaders, faith communities, and all patriotic Malawians to dedicate time for special prayers from July 3 to July 5, 2026, in accordance with their respective worship days. ”
As an adult who grew up in all the pomp and circumstances of the previous 60+ years, from the dawn of independence, through the country gaining its Republic status, complete with the title changes of our previous head of state from Prime Minister to State President Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, I am a very proud and patriotic Malawian. I fondly remember that every time the country commemorated July 6, the events became synonymous with a proud recollection of events in our nation’s history. These recollection moments were responses to three questions that young people everywhere in the world always want to know. These are:
A. How did we get here?
B. What is all the joy and fuss about? And
C. Is there anything else the country’s citizens can or should be doing?
If I may reiterate what has been said before, the conversation must start and be led, orchestrated, and championed by the Head of State, President Mutharika. He is the guardian of our past, present, and future. Until 2030, by all means.
A. How did we get here?
Our distant past is that of colonialism, when the British colonized our landlocked nation, then called Nyasaland. According to Malawi’s history, records, and statements at political rallies (thus both written and oral records), highlights of how evil the British rulers were to the local owners of the land, a land ruled by a Governor in the former capital, Zomba. Such pictures were told and can be recaptured at such commemorations as the 62nd Independence Anniversary, and now, added to this, the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Republic status.
A brief on the country’s path to democracy needs to be added. This rendition will include the country’s smooth transition through six presidents and seven administrations. These are, namely:
1. Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda;
2. Dr. Bakili Muluzi;
3. Professor Bingu wa Mutharika;
4. Dr. Joyce Banda;
5. Professor Peter Mutharika;
6. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera; and
7. Professor Peter Mutharika
B. What is all the joy and fuss about?
The national chroniclers need to be employed to review Malawi’s past and paint a picture of Malawi, using Malawi’s patriotic lenses. Such a narrative, having removed the sting of negativity when seen through a foreign/strange lens, should capture for young Malawians their past, of course, invoke in them pride, patriotism, and love of country. In the picture line-up, Prince Philip is handing over the reins of power to the then Prime Minister H. Kamuzu Banda, a packed Kamuzu Stadium, Mbumba women dancing, the picture of the Long Live Kamuzu Mountain, long lines of voters at the 1993 Referendum vote, Bakili Muluzi mammoth rallies, Bingu wa Mutharika ushers in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), followed by Joyce Banda becoming the country’s first female Vice President and then the country’s first (Africa’s second) female president.
A record of how President Peter Mutharika made history by becoming the second Mutharika to be Malawi’s State president. The story of the 2019 elections and the Constitutional Court’s nullification of the results must be recounted, highlighting how Malawi smoothly transitioned to fresh elections that led to the defunct Alliance, the tragic death of Vice President Chilima, and nine others, which must make the line-up. The history narrative culminates in the successful “comeback kid” win by current President Professor Peter Mutharika and Malawi’s second female Vice President, Dr. Jane Ansah. In this culmination, there is, in order, a celebration of the fact that the country elected, for the first time, two people from the legal profession to the offices of President and Vice President.
C. Is there anything else the country’s citizens can or should do?
As a people, Malawians are called upon to pause. As we commemorate the twin anniversaries of 62 years of Independence and 60 years of the Republic, let us move forward, recognizing and accepting that we are a people of many beautiful cultures knit together by a shared history. We are the Maravi people. The narrative listed above is of the high political office space; ordinary Malawians have contributed to the story that makes us a great, beautiful nation, a nation to be proud of. We must continue the powerful legacy left to us by our forefathers and mothers.
