History of Malawi - One-party Rule

One-party Rule

In 1970 Hastings Banda was declared President for life of the MCP, and in 1971 Banda consolidated his power and was named President for life of Malawi itself. The paramilitary wing of the Malawi Congress Party, the Young Pioneers, helped keep Malawi under authoritarian control until the 1990s.

Banda, who was always referred to as "His Excellency the Life President Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda", was a dictator. Allegiance to him was enforced at every level. Every business building was required to have an official picture of Banda hanging on the wall. No other poster, clock, or picture could be placed higher on the wall than the president's picture. The national anthem was played before most events - including movies, plays, and school assemblies. At the movie theaters, a video of His Excellency waving to his subjects was shown while the anthem played. When Banda visited a city, a contingent of women were expected to greet him at the airport and dance for him. A special cloth, bearing the president's picture, was the required attire for these performances. The one radio station in the country aired the president's speeches and government propaganda. People were ordered from their homes and told to lock all windows and doors, by police, at least an hour prior to President Banda passing by...we were expected to wave.

Among the laws enforced by Banda, it was illegal for women to wear see-through clothes, pants of any kind or skirts which showed any part of the knee. There were two exceptions to this: if they were at a Country Club (a place where various sports were played) and if they were at a holiday resort/hotel...which meant that with the exception of the resort/hotel staff, they were not seen by the general populace. Men were not allowed to have hair below the collar; when men whose hair was too long, arrived in the country from overseas, they were given a hair cut before they could leave the airport. Churches had to be government sanctioned. Members of certain religious groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, were persecuted and kicked around the country at one time. All Malawian citizens of Indian heritage were forced to leave their homes and businesses and move into designated Indian areas in the larger cities. At one time, they were all told to leave the country, then hand-picked ones, were allowed to return. It was illegal to transfer or take privately earned funds out of the country unless approved through proper channels; proof had to be supplied to show that one had already brought in the equivalent or more, in foreign currency in the past. When some left, they gave up goods and earnings.

All movies shown in theaters were first viewed by the Malawi Censorship Board. Content considered unsuitable — particularly nudity or political content — was edited. Mail was also monitored by the Censorship Board. Some overseas mail was opened, read, and sometimes edited. Videotapes had to be sent to the Censorship Board to be viewed by censors. Once edited, the movie was given a sticker stating that it was now suitable for viewing, and sent back to the owner. Telephone calls were monitored and disconnected if the conversation was politically critical. Items to be sold in bookstores were also edited. Pages, or parts of pages, were cut out or blacked out of magazines such as Newsweek and Time.

Tourism "In global terms Africa, and Southern Africa in particular, is a small player in travel and tourism. With little over 3% of world tourist arrivals (and less than 2% if one excludes South Africa) Africa remains an undeveloped market in global terms. In the year 2000 only 10 million visitors came to countries in the region of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Using the overall SADC figures as a comparative benchmark, an even smaller number came to Malawi – 219,000 in 1998, 254,000 in 1999 and 222,526 in 2000. Despite these small numbers, the number of visitors has doubled over the last decade.

Quoted from: http://www.acdivoca.org/acdivoca/Amapbds.nsf/26e7005b12eaab498525738e006e9b90/f671c17851ce15f385256e78004e6d20/$FILE/Uni.%20of%20Durham,%20Tourism%20Value%20Chain%20-%20Malawi.pdf

While Malawi was a middle income country in the world during much of Banda's tenure, he managed to keep peace in the country for most of the time he was in power. He was a wealthy man, like most if not all world leaders. He owned houses (and lived in a palace), businesses, private helicopters, cars and other such luxuries. Speaking out against the president was strictly prohibited. Those who did so were often deported or imprisoned. Banda and his government were criticized for human rights violations by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. After he was deposed, Banda was put on trial for murder and attempts to destroy evidence.

During his rule, Banda was one of the very few post-colonial African leaders to maintain diplomatic relations with apartheid South Africa.