There is no Ngwazi Mpulumutsi wa Muyaya in Malawi State House – October 30, 2026

October 29, 2026October 29, 2026 Janet Karim

By Janet Karim

There is no Ngwazi Mpulumutsi wa Muyaya in Malawi State House

^{15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”}—Joshua 24:15

Malawi has been a democracy for the past 32 years, and it will come as a shock to many nationals that there is no Ngwazi, no Mpulumutsi wa Muyaya living at the State House. This is because in 1994, Malawians overwhelmingly voted for democratic governance that came complete with a democratic constitution. This document outlines the type of government the country chose. That choice led to the Ngwazi at State House moving to Mudi House. State House has hosted presidents elected to office for 5-year terms.

The constitution drafted, debated, and taken to the people throughout the country incorporated therein three arms of government. These three arms of government are known as the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary. The most important thing about these is that they are equal, they have different mandates, and they form what is known as the government. They are separate; they have different tasks, but they are equal. These three arms FORM the government.

With the exception of the judiciary, the executive and legislative arms of the government are elected to their offices.

Recently, members from the executive and the public voiced various adverse reactions to the Speaker of the National Assembly Sameer Suleman’s efforts to pursue parliamentary investigations into alleged governance failures and misuse of public resources. Some even voiced that the Speaker should resign from his twice-elected position: he is an elected member of parliament, and his fellow members of parliament elected him to the position of Speaker.

Speaker Suleman is doing his job, a job that is outlined in the constitution adopted at the dawn of democratic governance in Malawi. Before this dawn of democratic governance, Malawi had been ruled by Ngwazi the Mpulumutsi wa Muyaya President Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda. During this time (31 years in all), what was said by the president from State House was as good as law.

The appeal made to Malawians who cherry-pick what was prevalent during Dr Banda’s 31-year rule is: please STOP. There is no Ngwazi at the State House. The three arms of government have clear, diverse mandates (job descriptions), and acknowledgement must not only be made, but also respected. By ordinary Malawians and all members of the three arms of the government.

It is unfortunate that Information Minister Shadric Namalomba publicly questioned Parliament’s authority to investigate corruption, insisting that suspected criminal offences should be referred to law enforcement agencies. To the honorable minister, please acquaint yourself with the parliamentary rules and procedures. They have changed since the days of the Ngwazi at State House.

My good friend, retired Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Dunstain Mwaungulu, informed Malawians that through parliamentary oversight, the National Assembly can investigate suspected corruption and conduct inquiries. This is part of the numerous mandates of parliament. It has been for the past 32 years.

Justice Mwaungulu was quick to add that while the parliament investigates wrongdoing, the parliament “cannot determine criminal guilt or prosecute suspects.” He pointed out that this is the mandate of the Malawi Police Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), and other agencies that are mandated to investigate financial crimes.

Democracy is a wonderful system of governance. The beauty of it is that it spells out clear, non-interchangeable jobs for various players in executing their roles. Just as the executive and judiciary have their mandates, parliamentary committees scrutinize public institutions and investigate concerns involving public resources. This is an accountability and oversight instrument.

Tell me, what does democracy look like? This is what democracy looks like!