history of Malawi

The Banda regime, 1963–94

Soon after independence, a serious dispute arose between Banda, the prime minister, and most of his cabinet ministers. In September 1964 three ministers were dismissed and three others resigned in protest. Henry Chipembere, one of these ministers, escaped from house arrest and defied attempts at recapture, becoming the focus for antigovernment opinion until his death in 1975. On July 6, 1966, Malawi became a republic, and Banda was elected president; in 1971 he was made president for life.

Malawi’s 1966 constitution established a one-party state under the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), which in turn was controlled by Banda, who consistently and ruthlessly suppressed any opposition. From independence the MCP government became a conservative, pro-Western regime, supported by a bicameral National Assembly whose members were elected within the single-party system.

Banda’s government improved the transport and communication systems, especially the road and railway networks. There was also much emphasis on cash crop production and food security; the estate sector (which produced tobacco, tea, and sugar) met expectations, but smallholder production was not as successful, mainly because of the low prices offered by the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC), the state organization that had the monopoly on marketing smallholder produce. In addition, the cost of fertilizer, all of which was imported and also dominated by ADMARC, rendered smallholder agriculture expensive.

For more than 10 years, Malawi was able to prosper economically before being felled by a confluence of external factors. In 1980, in an effort to improve the country’s economic situation and broaden regional ties, Malawi joined the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (later the Southern African Development Community), a union of Black majority-ruled countries near minority-ruled South Africa that wished to reduce their dependence on that country. Banda refused to sever formal diplomatic ties with the apartheid regime in South Africa, however—a decision that was not popular with the other leaders in the region.

On March 8, 1992, a pastoral letter written by Malawian Catholic bishops expressing concern at—among other things—the poor state of human rights, poverty, and their effects on family life was read in churches throughout Malawi. This act served to encourage underground opposition groups that had long waited for an opportunity to mount an open and vigorous campaign for multiparty democracy; exile groups also intensified their demands for political reform. Additional pressure was applied by international donors, who withheld financial aid. By the end of 1992, two internally based opposition parties, the Alliance for Democracy and the United Democratic Front (UDF), had emerged, and Banda agreed to hold a national referendum to determine the need for reform. Advocates for change won an overwhelming victory, and in May 1994 the first free elections in more than 30 years took place. Banda was defeated by Bakili Muluzi of the UDF by a substantial margin, and the UDF won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. Although no longer active, Banda remained head of the MCP until his death in November 1997.

Malawi since 1994

A new constitution, officially promulgated in 1995, provided the structure for transforming Malawi into a democratic society. Muluzi’s first term in office brought the country greater democracy and freedoms of speech, assembly, and association—a stark contrast to life under Banda’s regime. Muluzi’s administration also promised to root out government corruption and reduce poverty and food shortages in the country, although this campaign met with limited success. Muluzi pursued good relations with a number of Arab countries, toward most of which Banda had been particularly cool; he also sought to play a more active role in African affairs than his predecessor. Muluzi was reelected in 1999, but his opponent, Gwandaguluwe Chakuamba, challenged the results. The aftermath of the disputed election included demonstrations, violence, and looting. During Muluzi’s second term, he drew domestic and international criticism for some of his actions, which were viewed as increasingly autocratic.

Malawi’s international standing was bolstered in 2000, when the country’s small air force responded quickly to the flooding crisis in the neighboring country of Mozambique, rescuing upward of 1,000 people. However, the country was not as quick to respond to a severe food shortage at home, first noted in the latter half of 2001. By February 2002 a famine had been declared, and the government was scrambling to find enough food for its citizens. Unfortunately, much international aid was slow to arrive in the country—or was withheld entirely—because of the belief that government mismanagement and corruption contributed to the food shortage. In particular, some government officials were accused of selling grain from the country’s reserves at a profit to themselves prior to the onset of the famine.

Muluzi was limited to two terms as president, despite his efforts to amend the constitution to allow further terms. In 2004 his handpicked successor, Bingu wa Mutharika of the UDF, was declared the winner of an election tainted by irregularity and criticized as unfair. Mutharika’s administration quickly set out to improve government operations by eliminating corruption and streamlining spending. To that end, Mutharika dramatically reduced the number of ministerial positions in the cabinet and initiated an investigation of several prominent UDF party officials accused of corruption, leading to several arrests. His actions impressed international donors, who resumed the flow of foreign aid previously withheld in protest of the financial mismanagement and corruption of Muluzi’s administration.

By that time the country had been negatively affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis and the lack of such requisites as economically viable resources, an accessible and well-utilized educational system, and an adequate infrastructure—issues that continued to hamper economic and social progress. However, Mutharika’s administration showed potential for leading Malawi on a path of meaningful political reform, which in turn promised to further attract much-needed foreign aid.

As his term progressed, Mutharika faced a number of political challenges, including conflicts with his predecessor and the UDF. In February 2005 Mutharika left the UDF, of which Muluzi was chairman, and announced shortly thereafter his intention to form a new party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). In June the UDF brought an impeachment motion against Mutharika before the National Assembly, which in October voted to begin proceedings against him; although appeals to Mutharika’s opponents by donor countries and neighboring leaders asking that they reconsider were largely unsuccessful, the motion was finally withdrawn in early 2006. In July of that year, Muluzi was arrested on charges of corruption, although the charges were soon dropped because of lack of evidence. He was again arrested in mid-2008, in connection with an alleged plot to overthrow Mutharika, and again in February 2009, when he was accused of embezzling millions of dollars’ worth of donor funding. Muluzi denied the charges and claimed they were part of a political conspiracy against him as well as an attempt to keep him from standing in the upcoming presidential election.

Muluzi’s desire to run for president was hindered by another factor: whether the two terms he had previously served made him ineligible for a third. The Malawi Electoral Commission thought they did and barred him from standing in the election, but Muluzi appealed, arguing that the potential third term would be nonconsecutive with his previous terms and therefore would not violate the two-term limit stipulated in the constitution. His appeal was denied by a Malawian court just days before the election, and he threw his support behind the primary opposition candidate John Tembo of the MCP.

In the presidential and parliamentary elections held on May 19, 2009, Mutharika soundly defeated the other candidates, but many people, including Tembo, alleged that voting irregularities were widespread. International monitors stated that Mutharika had an unfair advantage leading up to the election, noting that the state-controlled media did not provide fair and balanced coverage of all candidates. Still, it was clear that Mutharika had the support of much of the population, who were satisfied with the great strides that the country had made under his administration. Economic growth had been steady, the agricultural sector had improved, and the food insecurity had been reduced.

The progress that Malawi experienced under Mutharika began to erode during his second term as his rule grew increasingly autocratic and the country faced new economic challenges. Some officials who expressed disagreement with Mutharika were dismissed from high-ranking positions, including Vice Pres. Joyce Banda, who was expelled from Mutharika’s DPP in December 2010, although she was able to retain her position as vice president of the country. The dismissals came amid rumors that Mutharika was grooming his brother, Peter, to succeed him as the DPP presidential candidate in elections scheduled for 2014.

Nationwide protests fueled by discontent with the country’s political and economic situation were held on July 20, 2011, which the army dealt with harshly: 19 demonstrators were killed, and hundreds more were wounded. International donors grew dissatisfied with the way that Mutharika was handling the country’s economic problems and were concerned about the administration’s apparent dwindling respect for upholding human rights. As a result, the country lost millions of dollars of much-needed aid, including a considerable amount from the United Kingdom after the two countries engaged in a high-profile diplomatic spat.

Against the backdrop of simmering political discontent, rising food prices, fuel shortages, and a power crisis, news that Mutharika had suffered a heart attack on April 5, 2012—and the subsequent reports of his death—left the country in a state of uncertainty. Official confirmation of Mutharika’s death was delayed, leading to well-founded concerns of a succession struggle between Banda, who had a constitutionally mandated right to take over as president, and members of Mutharika’s clique, who wanted to block her from serving in the position. The government did not officially confirm Mutharika’s death until April 7, and, with strong domestic and international support to counter Mutharika’s small circle of key supporters, Banda was sworn in as acting president that same day.

Banda moved quickly to counter the policies of Mutharika’s administration. During her first few months in office, she restored diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and normalized relations with donors. Banda also focused on restoring democratic practices, repairing the economy, and eliminating government corruption. One of her first economic decisions as president was to devalue the country’s currency, an act that was backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and donors but criticized at home and followed by a jump in the inflation rate. Her policies were somewhat effective, as donors resumed a flow of funding to Malawi, the inflation rate eventually began to fall, and the country’s economic growth rate more than doubled during her first two years as president. Still, much of the country remained at or below the poverty level.

Malawi’s battle with corruption came to the fore in 2013, after Paul Mphwiyo, the Ministry of Finance official heading up efforts to investigate and eliminate government corruption, was the target of an assassination attempt in September. The subsequent investigation into the attack quickly exposed the “cash-gate” scandal, a massive fraud and corruption operation that allegedly involved senior-level government officials, including some cabinet ministers in Banda’s administration. On October 10 Banda dissolved her entire cabinet to ensure that the officials under suspicion did not interfere with the investigation. Trials for those accused in the scandal began in January 2014. The next month, an independent audit report presented evidence that more than $30 million had been stolen from the government during a six-month period in 2013. The monetary total was expected to increase as the investigations continued, with estimates ranging from $100 million to $250 million.

The cash-gate scandal was one of the issues that figured prominently in campaigns for the May 2014 presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections, with Banda citing it as evidence that she was tackling corruption while opposition candidates pointed out that it happened under her watch; some even claimed that she was complicit in the scandal and had benefited from the misappropriated funds. By the time the elections were held on May 20, Banda appeared to be in a tight race with 3 of the other 11 presidential candidates, including Peter Mutharika, DDP leader and brother of the former president. Voting did not go smoothly, and polls were kept open a second and third day in areas that had experienced significant problems or delays. Additional problems surfaced, with Banda and some opposition parties complaining of voting irregularities and alleging that vote rigging had occurred, and there were delays with the tallying of the votes. Still, the consensus of international observers was that the elections, despite some problems, were generally credible.

On May 24 Banda proclaimed that she was annulling the elections and ordering them to be repeated in 90 days; she also said she would not be a candidate in the new presidential election. However, her proclamation was quickly overturned by the country’s High Court, which said that Banda did not have the power to annul the elections, the elections were still valid, and vote counting should continue. Soon after that, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), which had been announcing partial results as they were tallied, stopped releasing results and indicated the need to conduct a recount after discovering some voting anomalies. Many legal motions were filed in conjunction with the election and the vote-tallying process, including one by Mutharika’s DPP party, which sought and received an injunction to prevent a full recount from occurring. The MEC petitioned the High Court for a waiver to extend the deadline for releasing the election results—eight days from the closing of the polls—in order to have time to complete a partial recount of votes from problematic areas. On May 30 the High Court denied the request and ordered the MEC to announce the results. Mutharika was declared the winner, with 36.4 percent of the vote; he was followed by Lazarus Chakwera of the MCP, who obtained 27.8 percent, and Banda, who came in third with 20.2 percent. Banda conceded and Mutharika was sworn in as president on May 31, 2014.

The run-up to the 2019 presidential, legislative, and local government elections saw a shifting array of political alliances. By the time the May 21 polls took place, Mutharika, who was again standing for the DPP, faced six other candidates, including Chakwera of the MCP and Saulos Chilima, the vice president, who, after falling out with Mutharika, was now competing against him under the banner of the United Transformation Movement (UTM). Banda, who had initially backed Chilima in a short-lived alliance before moving on to declare her own candidacy in the presidential poll, ultimately withdrew from the race and threw her support to Chakwera. Mutharika was declared the winner, taking 38.57 percent of the vote; he was closely followed by Chakwera with 35.41 percent. Before the results were announced, however, there were allegations of widespread incidents of vote tampering, such as the use of correction fluid on results sheets. Chilima and Chakwera challenged the results in a case heard by the country’s Constitutional Court.

The court’s highly anticipated ruling was issued in February 2020. Citing widespread anomalies and irregularities, the court found that the results were seriously compromised. As such, it annulled the results of the presidential election and ordered a new election to be held within 150 days. Furthermore, the court ruled that the country’s “first past the post” method of allowing a candidate to win with less than a majority of the vote was unconstitutional and called for the National Assembly to pass new legislation that required the winning candidate to receive more than 50 percent of the vote. It also cast doubt on the MEC’s ability to oversee the new election and directed the National Assembly to consider replacing the current MEC commissioners.

The rerun of the presidential election was held on June 23, 2020, with Mutharika, Chakwera, and one other candidate, Peter Kuwani, in the race. Chakwera was declared the winner, with more than 58 percent of the vote; Mutharika garnered slightly less than 40 percent. Chakwera was inaugurated on June 28; Chilima, who this time around was Chakwera’s running mate, was sworn in as vice president the same day.

While campaigning, both Chakwera and Chilima had pledged to tackle corruption in the country. In 2022, however, Chilima was accused of having accepted money from businessman Zuneth Sattar in exchange for helping Sattar’s companies win government contracts. Chilima denied the charges, and Chakwera stripped him of his official duties while his corruption case was being investigated. Chilima’s case was moved to the High Court in 2023, but in May 2024 the prosecutor dropped the charges without explanation. Later that month it was revealed that Chilima’s case had been closed for reasons that included national security because it involved Malawi’s military.

On June 10, 2024, a military plane carrying Chilima and nine others disappeared from radar southwest of Mzuzu, in the northern part of the country, during unfavorable weather conditions. The next day Chakwera announced that the wreckage of the plane had been found and there were no survivors. Chakwera later chose Michael Usi, a cabinet minister who had been a close ally of Chilima, to serve the remainder of Chilima’s term as vice president. Usi was sworn in on June 21.