Malawi’s generational reckoning: Why trust in political institutions is collapsing

By Tapiwa Alexandriah Ngwembe:

Malawi is not simply facing governance challenges; it is confronting a generational reckoning. Across the country, trust in political institutions is collapsing, and it is collapsing fastest among the young. This is no longer a passing frustration or a temporary mood. It is a structured, event driven crisis that is reshaping how Malawians, especially those aged between 18 and 35, see their State, their leaders and their future.

Young people consistently express lower confidence in the presidency, Parliament, political parties and oversight bodies. Their skepticism is shaped by the environments in which they live and the information they consume.

Higher education exposes them to critical political analysis, urban life makes governance failures more visible and digital access ensures that every scandal, every broken promise and every delayed investigation is amplified and remembered.

In many ways, the youth are not becoming cynical; they are becoming attentive.

Even institutions that once commanded broad respect are no longer immune. The Judiciary remains the most trusted, largely due to landmark rulings in recent years, but even this trust is fragile. It depends on continued independence and visible effectiveness.

When corruption cases stall or high profile investigations fade without resolution, young Malawians interpret this not as bureaucratic delay but as selective justice. And who can blame them? A generation that feels excluded and unheard is becoming increasingly disillusioned and recent political events have only deepened this sentiment.

One of the clearest examples is the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the June 10, 2024 military plane crash that killed former vice president Saulos Chilima and eight others. The others who died in the plane accident are former first lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, Lucas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, Dan Kanyemba, Abdul Lapukeni as well as Colonel Owen Sambalopa, Major Flora Selemani and Major Aidin, who are Malawi Defence Force personnel who were operating the Malawi Air Force plane.

On paper, the inquiry signals institutional responsiveness: lawmakers visiting the crash site at Nthungwa in Viphya Plantation, senior officials present, and efforts to reconstruct the final moments of the ill fated flight. But for many young Malawians, the real question is not whether a committee exists; it is whether this process will lead to clear answers and visible consequences.

Young Malawians have seen inquiries before. They have seen reports shelved, findings contested and responsibility diffused. If this investigation follows that familiar pattern, it will not just be a failure of aviation oversight; it will be another blow to already fragile trust in Parliament, the Executive and the broader system of accountability.

The youth are watching closely and silence or ambiguity will speak louder than any official statement.

The same logic applies to tensions surrounding this year’s Kamuzu Day commemorations. The Malawi Congress Party’s decision to hold separate prayers after claiming that former president Lazarus Chakwera was excluded from the official programme may seem like a minor political dispute, but it carries deeper implications. It reinforces a perception among youths that political institutions are consumed by rivalry and symbolism rather than substance.

When national commemorations become arenas of exclusion and parallel events, they send a message that institutions are not neutral guardians of national memory but tools in partisan battles. For a generation already skeptical of political parties, this kind of episode confirms their belief that parties prioritise internal battles over national cohesion. What should have been a unifying moment instead became a reminder of how fragile Malawi’s political culture has become.

The collapse of the Public Service Pension Trust Fund (PSPTF) offers perhaps the most striking illustration of how structural failures feed into the generational trust crisis. The fund, which holds more than K1.1 trillion in pension assets for 139,000 civil servants, should be a symbol of long term security and institutional reliability.

Instead, it has become a case study in how governance gaps can endanger citizens’ futures. For 13 months, from October 2024 to June 2025, PSPTF operated without a legally appointed Board of Trustees.

During this “shadow era”, billions of Kwacha were authorised without statutory oversight. Some PSPTF officers claim that they were coerced by political operatives to sign off on questionable transactions. Auditors discovered that pension records were being managed on unsecured Excel spreadsheets, backup systems were non functional, over 1,100 members were missing from the database and K11.5 billion in contributions had not been allocated to individual accounts.

For young Malawians, the message is stark: even institutions that are designed to protect their futures are vulnerable to neglect and political interference. It is difficult to trust a system that cannot safeguard something as basic as a pension.

This pattern extends across other recent governance failures. Affordable Inputs Programme scandals between 2022 and 2024, with missing fertiliser shipments and inflated contracts, have become symbols of broken promises. The ongoing fuel shortages disrupt daily life and economic activity, especially for urban youths who rely on transport for work and business.

The K750 million Maizegate procurement controversy raises familiar questions about procurement integrity and whether lessons from earlier scandals have ever been internalised. Delays in high profile corruption cases reinforce the belief that the powerful can evade justice. Rising costs of living, driven by Kwacha devaluation, hit youths hardest while persistent public service failures from erratic water supply to blackouts and passport delays complete the picture of institutions that are struggling to deliver even basic services.

Older adults remain more trusting, partly because they experienced the transition from one party rule and value stability. But even among this group, trust has declined as hardship and governance failures accumulate. The difference is that older adults tolerate institutional shortcomings while youths disengage, protest or seek alternatives outside formal politics.

What emerges is clear: Malawi’s trust crisis is not a vague sentiment but a rational response to a pattern of events. The youth are not imagining institutional decay; they are observing it. Rebuilding trust will require more than speeches. It will demand credible investigations, depoliticised national events, reform at institutions such as PSPTF and consistent progress in corruption cases.

Malawi stands at a crossroads. The largest demographic group is losing faith not because it is cynical, but because it is paying attention. Whether that faith can be restored depends on what institutions choose to do next.