In the Malawi News edition of August 24-30, 2013, I argued in support of the then Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Peter Mutharika’s declaration that, once elected President of Malawi, he would not negotiate with Tanzania on Lake Malawi. Mutharika’s declaration sparked a political debate, with his critics contending that the DPP candidate was being belligerent.
On Wednesday, Mutharika emphatically declared that the whole lake belongs to Malawi. Probably, Mutharika has realised that there is no sitting on the fence. All along, Malawi had chosen to play ‘soft diplomacy’.
Historical approach
Our founding father, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, said ownership of the lake is non-negotiable. Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika said it and never entertained any meetings over the issue. So did Dr. Joyce Banda. If someone feels aggrieved, let us seek the wisdom of the courts.
Dr. Joyce Banda told representatives of the forum of former Southern African Development Community (Sadc) leaders that Malawi would not accept any interim deal on the lake until the matter is settled, even if it means going all the way to the International Court of Justice.
On June 16, 1967, Dr. Banda said that whoever was toying with the issue of the lake was playing with fire. Malawi News quoted the Malawi patriarch as warning: “No-one should underestimate our strength. It is not the number of people or guns that matter but who holds those guns.” He then promised to say more in Parliament. And indeed on June 30, Dr. Banda said that if Malawi wanted to live in peace, then she had to prepare for war. He then instructed the then commander of the para-military Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP), Aleke Banda, to ensure that the MYPs were ready “for you can never tell”. Dr. Banda said that Mbeya, Songeya and Tukuyu had always been inhabited by Malawians, saying, if anything, Malawi was supposed to demand back these pieces of land. He summarised by declaring: “I will not give anything away.” Dr. Banda also told Parliament, three days earlier, that he would never agree to a suggestion or proposal to divide Lake Malawi. He said that the lake had always belonged to Malawi.
Nyerere’s position
Tanzania’s founding father, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, stressed that the whole of the lake belonged to Malawi. “I must emphasise again… there is now no doubt at all about this boundary. We know that not a drop of the water of Lake Nyasa (as Lake Malawi is called in Tanzania) belongs to Tanganyika (old name for Tanzania) under the terms of the agreement (Heligoland Treaty), so that, in actual fact, we should be asking a neighbouring government to change the boundary in favour of Tanganyika.
“Some people think this is easier in case of water and it might be much more difficult in the case of land. I do not know the logic about this.”
Independence of mediators
Sadc appointed former president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, and former president of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano to mediate between Malawi and Tanzania. I must say that both statesmen are eminent sons of the continent and they are largely suited for this role. But history reveals that both of them have closer ties with Tanzania than Malawi.
In 1962, the African National Congress arranged that Mbeki be sent to Tanzania for further studies following the arrest of his father, alongside Nelson Mandela. Mbeki was trained in Tanzania until he left to pursue a master’s degree in economics at Sussex University in Britain.
As for Chissano, he was in Dar es Salaam as secretary to Mozambique’s founding father, Dr Eduardo Mondlane, as they formed Frelimo. He was also Frelimo’s chief representative in Tanzania from 1969 to 1974.
But in any negotiations, justice should not only be done but it should be seen to be done. Although the mediators might be well suited for their role, Malawi might be jittery about their independence and objectivity. They owe their political success to Dar es Salaam and not Lilongwe.
Malawians know that one does not negotiate property rights with an intruder. The issue of the lake remains non-negotiable.
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