Vol 48 No 24 | MALAWI Three men in a boat 30th November 2007 Political life languishes as three old adversaries line up their parties for the elections that lie ahead Malawi's politics are dominated by three men. President Bingu wa Mutharika holds several ministerial portfolios and leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). John Tembo leads the opposition and...
Vol 48 No 24 | MALAWI The Africa Forum 30th November 2007 Ex-presidents and other ex-leaders came together as the Africa Forum in Livingstone, Zambia, on 21-23 November. The theme of their gathering was 'Ending AIDS - Africa Takes Charge'....
Vol 48 No 22 | MALAWIZIMBABWE His friend Bob 2nd November 2007 President Mutharika seems to be buddying up to Zimbabwe's failing boss, which looks a bad move Since he became President in 2004, Bingu wa Mutharika has confounded expectations that he would go on governing as his predecessor, Bakili Muluzi, did. His management of the...
Vol 48 No 22 | MALAWI Conflict in a lakeside church 2nd November 2007 Nkhotakota is a small town on the western shore of Lake Malawi, whose opposite coastline, in Mozambique, is occasionally visible. The corrugated-iron roofed Cathedral of All ...
Vol 48 No 16 | MALAWI Back-biting 3rd August 2007 President Bingu lacks patience for the stand-off with his parliamentary opponents The shrill voices of government officials dominate the airwaves, as political paralysis gives way to feuding. 'You think I don't bite? I have teeth which bite and I...
Vol 48 No 13 | MALAWI Unity? Who with? 22nd June 2007 The death of First Lady Ethel Mutharika on 28 May and the immediate proroguing of parliament led to an eerie calm: political foes briefly spoke to each other...
Vol 48 No 6 | MALAWI Muluzi the Third 16th March 2007 Ex-President Bakili Muluzi finally announced, to a large rally of his United Democratic Front on 11 March, that he will be its candidate for the 2009 presidential election....
Vol 48 No 5 | MALAWI Pipe Dreams 2nd March 2007 In 1964 when the British colonialists left, Malawians ate mostly home-grown maize and earned foreign exchange from tobacco. Despite huge efforts and the doubling of the population, little...
Vol 48 No 4 | MALAWI Muluzi on the record 16th February 2007 In Britain for a month, former President Bakili Muluzi tells Africa Confidential about his political plans Malawian attitudes to former President Bakili Muluzi are still mixed but President Bingu wa Mutharika insists that he is still a 'good friend'. His Deputy Information Minister, John...
Vol 48 No 2 | MALAWI Who said what to whom? 19th January 2007 The latest bizarre political twist is the arrest of three senior executives of the former governing party, the United Democratic Front, whose chairman is ex-President Bakili Muluzi. Three...