Zimbabwe and Malawi: the eternal bond that binds us

By Daniel Fortune Molokele
Last updated: 04/19/2007 23:49:59

THIS past week, I took some time to reflect on the common heritage that Zimbabwe shares with the people of Malawi.

This rather rare special focus on the Malawi was occasioned by the mere fact that I visited the Thyolo district of southern Malawi recently as part of a field team sponsored by an international NGO I now work for that has medical relief support projects in Malawi.

This was my second ever visit to Malawi. My first visit was in September 2003 as part of the MISA Zimbabwe team that was dispatched to Blantyre and Dar es Salaam, in the aftermath of the unjust closure of the Daily News.

Historically speaking, Malawi and Zimbabwe converge at the level of
colonialism. Both countries were colonised by the same European imperial power, Britain.

Specifically, it was during the controversial years of the central African federation of between 1953 and 1963 that our colonial history was at its closest. This was during the days of the ill-fated triple partnership between Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia. It was thus after the collapse of the federation that the two countries' destinies somehow diverged in terms of political direction.

It then happened that Nyasaland became the independent Malawi under Kamuzu Banda and Northern Rhodesia became Zambia under Kenneth Kaunda. Sadly for Southern Rhodesia, things had to go the longer route. Unlike the other two countries, it had its own unique experience of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in November 1965.

Thereafter it became known simply as Rhodesia under the leadership of Ian Smith. It was not until after the bloody liberation struggle that the country also got its full independence in April 1980.

Thereafter it became known as Zimbabwe under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. Sadly for most of us, he remains the only post-independence leader the country has ever known.

But it is also trite to mention that both Kaunda and Banda ruled their respective countries for almost three decades each until they were swept out from power. Mugabe somehow appears to have learnt two clear lessons from those two founding presidents.

Firstly, one can stay in power as long as they can, as long as it is at least thirty continual years. Secondly, be prepared to sacrifice your country at the altar of self aggrandisement, a feat he appears to have really learnt from Banda who allowed a lot of talented Malawians to leave the country leaving it to continue to suffer as one of the world’s poorest countries.

Mugabe, like Banda, appears to believe that it is okay to allow the country to continue to sink deeper into the abyss, as he remains the captain of the ship. It is no wonder that Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has recently likened Zimbabwe to a sinking Titanic!