Today, 28 years ago, Catholic Bishops in Malawi read a letter against the repressive regime of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
That famous Pastoral Letter etched itself in the annals of Malawi’s history as it fanned the winds of change blowing across Malawi.
The world had enough of MCP’s dictatorship and flagrant abuse of human rights. Change was coming. Even as MCP plotted to kill the Bishops for their epoch-making letter, change was unstoppable.
Malawi adopted multiparty democracy and MCP was ousted from power. So what has changed? Many things have changed. Malawi is no longer the abuser of human rights that it was.
Supported by a progressive Constitution, Malawi has established multiple institutions of governance.
These institutions have been instrumental in providing checks and balances to the government in the interest of Malawian people.
And more importantly, Malawians are far freer than it could ever be imagined during MCP dictatorship.
The people of Malawi are able to enjoy their human rights as enshrined in the Republican Constitution. But one thing has not changed: MCP.
Twenty-eight years after Catholic Bishops published the Lenten letter condemning its oppressive rule; MCP remains an oppressive party, cold-blooded, blood thirsty and a brutal human rights abuser.
Its actions in the past 10 months bear testimony. The laws which Malawi came up with after adoption of multiparty democracy lay down procedures for addressing grievances in a civilized way.
Instead of sticking to Rule of Law, MCP has resorted to extra judicial measures of violence and intimidation.
Malawians have watched in awe as MCP unleashed post-election terrorism – burning and stealing from shops and government offices, beating up innocent citizens, stripping women, looting farm warehouses and killing a police officer by stoning him.
That is MCP: 28 years after the Bishops condemned MCP brutality, MCP is failing to change. Even scary is that it is unleashing terror while in opposition.
As the nation reflects on the Bishop’s letter, Malawians have a stark warning before them as to what a monster MCP is.
The Bishops letter helped to change Malawi. But MCP will never change! It will remain the Satan it was!
