Malawi’s 52nd Independence Anniversary came and passed on Wednesday, July 6, with murmuring ‘celebrations’ at the Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe where President Peter Mutharika led an interdenominational congregation in national service of worship to mark the anniversary.
On 6 July 1964, the country under the tutelage of its father and founder Hastings Kamuzu Banda emancipated from the British colonial rule that established a federal state by amalgamating three southern African countries of Nyasaland now Malawi, Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe and Northern Rhodesia now Zambia.
And for 51 years, the country led by the head of state has been commemorating the day with a series of events such as traditional dances, speeches, military parades and a football match, among others, held in the South, Central or Northern region per year.
The events have also helped keep Malawi’s history as it passes from generation to generation and acts as a unifying factor for the nation with people of different tribes.
Historian Puleni Chilikumzako says it is important to celebrate Independence Day as a national event the way it has been celebrated in the past because, through the celebrations, Malawians demonstrate patriotism and willingness to learn from their past.
“It is wrong not to celebrate; if we don’t celebrate, how will we remember the freedom fighters? Will the children be able to know where we are coming from as a country? People who don’t want the celebrations on this historical day are selfish because I might conclude that they want to erase the history of the country,” Chilikumzako says.
His views are in sharp contrast to government’s decision to cancel this year’s celebrations.
According to Chief Secretary to the Government, George Mkondiwa, government had no money for the celebrations due to economic constraints the country is going through.
Chilikumzako, however, says government has only been witty by holding the national service of worship.
“They say there is no money in government and there is nothing else we can say about it because it was lost through Cashgate, and that is one of the disadvantages of the democratic era, we lost discipline in the running of affairs of the state.
“People who fought for the country’s independence never experienced this during the one-party rule, there was nothing like Cashgate, so if we don’t remember independence, we are also ignoring them, yet there is a lot we want to learn from them,” he says.
He warns that Malawi’s history risks being forgotten if government will again in the subsequent years suspend the cerebrations.
“Government should get things right in the years to come, it should by all means find money for the celebrations because it is risky, if we suspend the national celebrations next year and the other years, then we should forget about our history,” Chilikumzako says.
Umodzi Party President, John Chisi, also faults the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration for cancelling the country’s 52nd national independence cerebrations due to government’s financial constraints.
Chisi says there is no point in government telling Malawians that it had no money for the cerebrations while it is spending millions of kwacha on programmes that are benefiting few selected people and only among the elite.
He says for people who are fully aware of the history of the country, independence celebrations are the only symbol of national unity in a country like Malawi which is characterised by tribalism.
“I do not buy the idea that the cerebrations [would] not take place because government had no money; we are hearing that the same government is planning to buy many vehicles for the Vice-President, where are they going to get that money from? MPs in Parliament also want loans from the same government, where will the money come from? And they told us not to cerebrate due to economic struggles, that’s mediocrity.
“Recently, the President has been touring the country, holding what they call developmental rallies, is the money they spent in those rallies not coming from government confers? Why is it that the elite want to enjoy the country while they are not respecting our interest,” Chisi says.
He says as the cerebrations failed, President Mutharika should not be seen again wasting government’s money holding development rallies that he describes as only for the ruling party and not national.
“The problem is that the DPP administration perceives independence celebrations as Malawi Congress Party event, they think the celebrations are connected to Kamuzu who is considered a freedom fighter, so the cancellation of the celebrations is political,” Chisi says.
He says much as the worship service was of paramount importance, government should also understand that some Malawians are atheists and deserve cerebrations as well.
“We have non-believers in this country, they don’t worship, yet they are Malawians, if we keep on cancelling national cerebrations, where will they cerebrate?” he says.
But Mkondiwa, in a recent press statement, said the national service of worship would also be a way of asking God to intervene in various challenges facing the nation.
But perhaps the July 6 celebrations just have to be regardless of the economy’s status
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