MALAWI: FEAR AND ANTICIPATION AHEAD OF DEMONSTRATIONS ON WEDNESDAY 20th JULY

A mixture of fear and anticipation catches on in Malawi as the country prepares for nationwide demonstrations in the southern African country. Wednesday 20th July 2011 is the date set by Civil Society activists in the country as the beginning of a series of mass demonstrations aimed at protesting against bad economic and democratic governance that has engulfed the country. The theme of the demonstrations is: "Uniting for peaceful resistance against bad economic and democratic.

Fresh and crisp fear creeps into the air in Malawi’s two major cities Lilongwe the capital city and Blantyre, the commercial city by Tuesday evening.
In Lilongwe, masked thugs, alleged to be supporters of the ruling party, smashed and burnt two of a private radio station’s vehicles within 24 hours. The station, Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) together with all other privately-owned media houses in the country have been giving platform to organizers of the protests who have come under heavy attack from government officials through the state-run broadcaster, The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, MBC. MBC, in an attempt to dissuade Malawians from attending Wednesday's planned demonstrations, has lately carried news bulletins, claiming that Malawians are being duped about the demonstrations, whose real aim, is to show support for gay rights, for which civil society groups have received millions of kwacha.
In Blantyre the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) militia infested the streets of Blantyre i n DPP branded vehicles on Tuesday, threatening "to deal" with anybody opposing government in tomorrow’s demonstrations. Observers reported of a traumatic sight of how the militia, who wielded machetes, stopped at several points, got out their vehicles, sharpened their pangas and shouted threats.

Malawi is currently undergoing a severe fuel crisis, which began earlier this year, a recurrent episode of crippling shortages since 2009. The country has had severe forex shortages at a time when it is supposed to have plenty of it from tobacco sales, currently in season. On Thursday July 14th the British Government announced it had stopped giving budgetary support to the Malawi Government, citing concerns with the suppression of demonstrations, the intimidation of civil society organisations, and an Injunctions Bill that prevents citizens from obtaining court injunctions against the government. The British Government also argued that Malawi’s currency, the Kwacha, was overvalued, resulting in chronic forex shortages “which are having a serious impact on the Malawian private sector’s ability to drive future growth. There are now daily fuel queues, tobacco exports are at their worst and Malawi is off-track with its IMF programme.”
The political landscape has been tense since December 2010 when the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) expelled Rt. Hon. Joyce Banda, the country's Vice President, for what is widely believed to be a ploy for President Bingu wa Mutharika to pave way for his brother, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika. The Vice President has since formed her own party, although officially she remains the country's Vice President.
President Bingu wa Mutharika has recently signed into law bills that have been met with wide criticism and resistance, including one empowering the Minister of Information to ban a publications deemed not to be in the public interest. A more recent law makes it impossible for individuals to obtain a court injunction and seek judicial redress against the government.
The University of Malawi has had two of its constituent colleges, Chancellor College and The Polytechnic, at a stalemate when lecturers started refusing to enter classrooms for fear of spies. The saga started in February this year when the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Peter Mukhito, summoned a Chancellor College political science lecturer, Dr Blessings Chinsinga, to question him for mentioning the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt during a lecture.
There are fears that the July 20th mass demonstrations may turn violent. Supporters of President wa Mutharika and the DPP have announced a counter-demonstration on the same day. There are reports that 800 police officers are being specially trained to stop the demonstrations “with zero casualties” according to online newspaper Malawi Voice.
Up to until his re-election to a second term in May 2009, President Bingu wa Mutharika enjoyed broad support locally, and wide admiration abroad.

Ideas for 20th July.

In this article I would like to share with you ideas on how simple technology can be utilized resourcefully. Most of us in our time carry a powerful gadget in our pockets, every minute of everyday: the Cellphone. It is a shame that we to not recognize its power.

The cellphone technology has changed the face of communication in Malawi for the past ten years. Today the cellphone commodity is no longer the luxury it used to be a few years ago. Apart from the budget phones introduced by the communication giants Airtel, TNM and MTL), most phone sets used by Malawians, have more advanced facilities besides the talking facility. These functions include digital cameras, video cameras, voice recording and many more.

From a historical point of view, communication technology has been used by the authorities for policing protests, from video cameras, CCTV and now social media. The Malawi Police for example, have utilized radio messages to communicate to each other during protests. However in this new day and age, it is the protesters who are now using technology to their advantage. This is an ideal moment in time for Malawians to embrace technology and use our everyday gadgets as aids during demonstrations. aMalawi tiyeni nazo Moto!

With new visual and audio technologies, demonstrators can be able to utilize camera phones to shoot photos, audio clips and videos that they can instantly upload on internet sites (for those with blackberries and other smart phones). Those with less sophisticated phones can also download and upload these items later) thanks to high-speed wireless technology.

The photo shows people using their cellphones to document and perhaps even broadcast the situation.

Social media is also a very important tool during protests. Social media has become the easiest and fastest way of communicating to friends and family. Fresh in my memory is how through Facebook, I got to know about the collapse of Kips restaurant barely minutes after the collapse.
Social networking sites and internet forums can be used to get and to send very important information during the 20th July demonstrations. With one ‘status’, or one ‘tweet’, one can send out information on rallying points, riot presence or police presence. In Malawi Facebook has caught on like a bush fire, you would be surprised at the people who you find on Facebook. Managers, secretaries, school levers, parents, aunts, uncles, sometimes even grandparents! All these can be kept informed about current developments.


As the nation is being informed about DPP youth cadets plan to infest the streets to counter the protestors (Nyasatimes 13th July 2011) and as speculations begin to spread about a special police training aimed at suppressing the planned civil disobedience (Nyasatimes 15th July), capturing images from the demonstrations becomes even more important for those who want to exercise their constitutional right to march freely against the country’s economic and governance crisis. Not only does visual evidence of a demonstration give power to the cause, the act of ‘shooting’ a video, picture, voice recording could save your life and that of others.


Demonstrators can take pictures and videos whenever police and other groupings use violence or arrest people. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter for text, Flickr for photos and Bambuser for live video has become and will continue to be important tools for live reporting. Protesters can then upload these images on these sites at any moment in the protests. Protestors can also experiment with IReporting: where ordinary people, the independent voices, contribute in shaping how and what news stations and websites covers every day. Demonstrators could email their footage to Nyasatimes www.nyasatimes.com, Nation online www.nationmw.net, Zodiak online www.zodiakmalawi.com, The daily times: www.bnltimes.com, capital Radio: www.capitalradiomalawi.com and other stations to notify your loved ones, the nation at large and the international audience of any brutalities witnessed.


During the 2009 G20 protests in London, protestor footage became a vital piece of evidence against an act of police brutality. The footage shot by a protestor, shows a man being pushed to the ground by a police officer shortly before he collapsed and died from a heart attack. The man, Ian Tomlinson, was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a police officer in riot gear. It was later revealed that the man was not even part of the demonstrations. Rather, he was on his way home from work when he was confronted by lines of riot police near the Bank of England. In the footage, the man simply walked, with his hands in his pockets, he did not appear to speak to police or offer any resistance.

The Guardian newspaper was the first to obtain the dramatic footage and it prepared a -dossier of evidence to the police Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). This evidence shed fresh light on the events ¬surrounding the death of the man. A full investigation and trial followed. The protestor who recorded the footage was a New York fund manager who only came to the protest out of curiosity.


We have also witnessed some attempts to hack and shut down some of the most important websites of our time. Nyasatimes comes to mind. But there are ways in which ordinary people can circumvent the games being played by the government. Egypt for example fell off the internet as virtually all international connections were cut following an order from the government during the protest. Dial-up modems are one of the most popular routes for Egyptians to get back online and independent blogs gave advice about how to use it. Fax machines were also drafted in by online activists and others who wanted to contact people inside Egypt and pass on information about how to restore net access. Some Egyptians also reported that they could get at websites such as Google, Twitter and Facebook by using the numeric addresses for the sites rather than the English language name. Malawi is not Egypt. The point is that even when we get to more critical situations, there is always a way. Information technology experts could find a way to seize the situation.

I urge all information technology experts in Malawi to get working and help to get our communication system going. We are counting on you!, a group of students in London created and run a smartphone app called Sukey which directs people away from trouble during protests. This is an example of how technologically advanced young blood can contribute enormously to protests.


I’m wishing Malawians peaceful demonstrations free from intimidation and brutality. It is my hope that the images you shoot from these protest remain colorful memoirs of an important moment in our history. With our limited, erratic and unstable internet connections, it will surely be e difficult to upload these important images. However where there is a will there is a way.