all I can remember is that it was a tuesday like this one that Dr Banda Died following a respiratory failure after a battle with pnuemonia, reports then said. he led Malawi to independence in 1964 and then ruled it for 30 years. today i can describe him as a man of high principles and governing grounds.
The time the Ngwazi was dying, his long time companion Cecelia kadzamira was there giving us every bit of information to his condition. remember the man never got married, the man had no known children, the ngwazi was living a life of himself and the people he loved.That was no doubt a pleasant surprise: Dr. Banda generated mixed feelings among Malawians.
Many regarded him as the father of the nation, remember no one was to be called a president during his time of rule whether at social, educational or political arenas, he was all in one. remember he declared himself the life president of Malawi in 1971 and whether true or false said his enemies would become food for crocodiles. i dont know what that meant.
He held degrees from American and Scottish universities and his London medical offices became a sort of anticolonialist salon frequented by Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast (now Ghana).
today, we no longer leave with the ngwazi, he died but still his memories are fresh in many peoples minds what change would he have brought to Malawi if he was to be alive today? no one is to live without having a mission, would he have participated in active politics 0or became the chairman of the malawi Congress party, a party he led for so many years? would he have accepted another ngwazi to make them two? would he have allowed women in the counntry dresss the way they do today? would he have developed Malawi to greater heights? i dont know but one thing i know is many miss him
why i say this, his name still hungs in the malawi Congress party slogan, his name is still part of our history history, his name has made others campaign, his name still dominates some of the buildings and infrustructures. indeed his name is everywhere.
Under his rule, Malawi spurned black nationalist movements and was the only African nation with diplomatic ties to apartheid South Africa and to Israel. He was the darling of cold warriors and big business, and amassed power in his own hands, keeping the Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Public works to himself, as well as the trusteeship of the state monopolies in tobacco farming, factories, oil and banking.
If he was here would Malawi have settled for China? i say only if he was here, would it have taken the whole four years for political leaders to meet and reconcile for the common good. what vwould he have done with the situation in Zimbabwe, how would he have celebrated the win of Ballack Obama in America?
in 1993, facing international pressure and widespread protest, a referendum ended his one party state, and a special assembly stripped him of his title. Banda ran for president in the democratic elections which followed, but was soundly defeated. He died in South Africa in 1997. His legacy as ruler of Malawi remains controversial, some hailing him as a national and African hero, some denouncing him as a political tyrant. the rest can not be over emphasised.
if I remember very well, just after he ruled malawi, Banda went in court for murder. he was being charged togethr with his close aide JZU Tembo for charges of murdering political opponents
if he was to walk into town today surely he would see a changed Malawi, a new Malawi a civilised Malawi and a nice place to be malawi. now two presidents after him, what more can we do than to remember the legend, he still remains the first president of malawi, Mother Malawi.
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May his soul rest in peace. Thats all we can say.
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