While there has been talk about curbing cases of political violence in the country, it seems like those who are being rebuked have no ears and those who are doing the rebuking have no teeth. It is deeply concerning that just a few months before what promises to be a heavily contested election, people are still trying to kill each other in the name of political party allegiance. We have seen a consistent pattern of spurts of violence over the past one year or so and it is safe to conclude that this has become normal.
The biggest problem is that those with the authority to deal with the violence have decided not to act on such a vice. We are talking about the Malawi Police Service. We are also talking about the leadership of the biggest political parties in the land. The most recent act of political violence took place over the last weekend, where we saw a minibus ferrying Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters from Ntchisi District being set on fire by some unknown thugs. This was not the first time for DPP supporters to be attacked in the Central Region. There was a time unknown thugs also hacked DPP followers at Mbowe Filling Station in Lilongwe, and they went scot-free.
A few months ago, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) supporters were also attacked in Machinga–having their car and a police car heavily damaged in the attack. The only stone of hope from this was that at least somebody was taken into custody for questioning following the incident. Indeed, it would have been absurd not to have anyone arrested when sympathisers of the ruling party were attacked in broad daylight. But having analysed the patterns of violence in the last few months, it is not hard to tell that the police are not doing enough to protect the citizens of this country from gangs of lawless thugs masquerading as party fanatics.
The fact that the violence that took place last Sunday came just days after the Inspector General of Police had summoned youth leaders of political parties to a meeting aimed at ending violence should tell you that talk alone is not enough. We have also heard different leaders of political parties condemning violence on radio and television, but nothing has changed yet. As long as there is no action from law enforcement against perpetrators of political violence, we should not expect anything to change. For as long as thugs are still hacking people in the streets of Lilongwe at the watch of the police, we should expect blood-baths come September.
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Talking about ending violence will not end the violence. It is the same thing we do with several other things, including ending corruption, creating millions of jobs, ending poverty by 2063 and leaving no one behind. Those who lead at the highest level in this country thrive on the philosophy of rhetoric and they have no idea that words must follow action. If there was a time they could learn from a bad example then it was now. They can learn from Donald Trump–a man who says the unimaginable and goes ahead to put his words into action. Leadership has to be decisive and intentional–something that we rarely see here. Over the years, our institutions have degenerated and our moral campus seems to be off hinges because we have let chaos reign while we watch. One thing for sure is that we cannot continue on this road.
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Politics is one of those things that have ripped worlds apart. The problem is that, when it comes to this game, most people lose their rational faculties and simply act on savage instincts. It is because money is involved. People will always lose their minds for as long as they are trying to advance their selfish interests. And as the philosopher Thomas Hobbes rightly observed, humans are by nature selfish. This is why some people see political violence and do nothing about it because they are eating. We talk about ending corruption without doing anything to ensure that because we are somehow benefitting from the status quo. The selfishness of those in high places has paved the way to these seasons of anarchy.
