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NEWS ANALYSIS
Malawian President Peter Mutharika took a long time to address the looming threat of the Covid-19 pandemic. But when he finally succeeded, on April 14, he followed in the footsteps of most other world leaders and announced drastic measures: impose a state of disaster and a 21-day national blockade, which will begin on April 18.
The president’s announcement was not well received. Protests erupted on the streets of major cities. Doctors and nurses shot down tools. The president was even sued by a civil society group, the Malawi Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, who argued that the president had not prepared an adequate safety net to protect the poor.
In a stunning decision, the Lilongwe High Court ruled against the President and put the blockade aside until he has implemented the necessary socio-economic protection measures.
This multiple resistance to Mutharika’s efforts to contain the coronavirus can only be understood in the context of Malawi’s recent political history. Many parts of Malawian society do not feel that the President has earned their trust; As a result, many do not trust him to lead the country through this crisis.
In May of last year, the country of 17 million went to the polls and Mutharika was declared the winner. But the opposition screamed and went to the streets and to the courts. Months of sometimes violent protests against the government followed Mutharika’s re-election. And in February of this year, the constitutional court vindicated the protesters. Citing widespread irregularities, the court annulled the presidential election, making it the second country in Africa to do so, after Kenya.
The court ordered that a new vote be held. This is scheduled for July 2, and that’s what worried the national psyche when the virus appeared. Remains.
READ MORE: Ignoring the coronavirus, Malawi focuses on its own political crisis.
The opposition is concerned that Mutharika will use the pandemic to delay the elections and stay in power. Already controversial electoral commission chairwoman Jane Ansah, widely seen as a substitute for Mutharika, has called for the elections to be postponed. The courts rejected this request.
Nic Cheeseman, professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham, says Malawian leaders have used the pandemic as an excuse to infringe on democratic rights and secure their own position.
“Critics fear they are manipulating the crisis to consolidate their own power,” he said.
Vibrant opposition
But it was not Malawi’s vociferous political opposition that reacted most strongly against the blockade proposed by Mutharika.
As soon as it was announced, market vendors across the country, and especially in the main cities of Lilongwe, Mzuzu, and Blantyre, took to the streets to protest a decision they feared would have a devastating effect on their income. They were outraged that the measures came without cushioning the poor.
Days later, doctors and nurses followed suit, demanding a 70% increase in their risk allowance, which is currently 1,800 kwacha ($ 2.40 or R46) per month. The country’s second largest hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, was closed, rejecting pregnant women, including those with complications.
Kamuzu Central Hospital, the country’s largest referral hospital, was left with skeleton staff because most nurses and doctors chose to play in the hallways to pass the time in an attempt to force the government’s hand. Hospital staff also complained that they have inadequate protective equipment and are forced to wear a single mask for weeks.
According to Frackson Ngulinga, a doctor in the hospital’s medical department, staff were angry that the government did not increase the risk allocation. He described the current assignments as “ridiculous”.
“We don’t want to inflict pain on patients, but we are doing this to protect the patients themselves. We understand that the country needs our service more, but this is not appreciated because now the president would have told us about the details of the increase,” said Ngulinga Mail & Guardian.
By Wednesday, three people had died from the coronavirus and a total of 23 cases had been confirmed in the country.
“We are not against confinement per se, we are only asking for measures that ensure that the poorest of our citizens are protected. [The] the majority of the people of Malawi live hand in hand and we do not want to solve one problem by creating another; We don’t want people to be protected against the coronavirus and starve them to death, “said Gift Trapence, president of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, who obtained the injunction against confinement last week.
That decision will be reviewed on Friday. By then, Mutharika may have devised a plan to ease the economic effects on Malawi’s poorest citizens, but it is doubtful that he would have had enough time to regain their confidence.
