Former president Lazarus Chakwera was whisked away by security after police dispersed MCP supporters attempting to reach the Kamuzu Mausoleum during parallel commemorations marking Hastings Kamuzu Banda’s birthday.
By Edwin Mauluka
Commemorations marking the birthday of Malawi’s founding president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, turned violent on Thursday in the capital, Lilongwe, after police fired teargas to disperse supporters of the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the party’s leader, former president Lazarus Chakwera.
The clashes erupted as Chakwera and MCP supporters attempted to march to the Kamuzu Mausoleum to lay wreaths in honour of Banda. Chakwera had led a separate commemoration at the MCP headquarters after the official state ceremony had concluded.
The former president and senior MCP officials were not invited to the government event held at the mausoleum.
Police blocked MCP supporters from reaching the site before firing teargas canisters into the crowd. Some landed close to Chakwera and his security team, forcing his bodyguards to quickly usher him into vehicles and away from the scene.
Earlier at the MCP gathering, the party’s secretary-general, Richard Chimwendo Banda, said the event was lawful and had been cleared by authorities.
The official government commemoration was led by Youth and Sports Minister Alfred Gangata on behalf of President Peter Mutharika.
Gangata said Banda had instilled a culture of hard work and made agriculture the backbone of Malawi’s economy.
“There were previous attempts to erase the name of Kamuzu Banda from the minds of Malawians and from the history books. However, the DPP-led government, under the late Professor Bingu wa Mutharika, constructed this mausoleum in 2006 to preserve the legacy of Dr Banda. In the same spirit, the DPP-led government will continue to honour this true Malawian hero,” he said.
Gangata also said the government was working to address Malawi’s economic challenges, including persistent fuel shortages and foreign exchange scarcity.
“When President Mutharika was voted into office last year, the country was facing serious social and economic challenges, including shortages of food and forex, which affected the cost of living,” he said.
“As I speak, we are addressing the fuel shortages so that this problem is solved once and for all.”
May 14 marks Banda’s birthday and is commemorated annually in Malawi. Banda led the country to independence from Britain in 1964 and later ruled for three decades under a one-party system.
During his rule, Banda — who became president-for-life — was widely criticised for suppressing dissent, restricting free speech and targeting political opponents, including exiles abroad.
He lost power in 1994 after Malawi’s first multiparty elections, which followed the 1992 referendum that ushered in multiparty democracy.
More than three decades later, Banda remains one of Malawi’s most divisive political figures. While some Malawians remember his era for discipline and order, others continue to associate his rule with repression and authoritarianism.
