In Malawi, drama is said to be dead and buried. In their tributes to the good ole days, theatre fanatics salute the late Du Chisiza Jnr and his defunct Wakhumbata Ensemble Theatre as end of an era. But the thrilling theatrics are still alive, except in politics and the politicians who play the so-called dirty game.
For the honourable theatre queens and kings, the country is a vast stage for the acts they play in people’s name. The ended year has not been short of drama, which mostly panned out at the National Electoral Consultative Forum (Necof), the periodic talks convened by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to thrash out sticky issues in preparation for the 2025 September 16 General Election. If politicians are not accusing the National Registration Bureau (NRB) of not adequately fuelling its power generators to register everyone aged over 18, they are hitting at MEC for the use of the national identity card as the only legal proof for voter registration.
During the first Necof held at Bingu International Convention Centre in Lilongwe, lawmakers from the North and South took turns, accusing NRB of forcing them to dig deep in their pockets to fuel gensets so that everyone gets the legal proof to register and vote. “It is NRB’s responsibility to fuel the gensets, but we are being forced to buy fuel because if we don’t, eligible voters in our constituencies may not vote,” lamented Mulanje Bale member of Parliament (MP) Victor Musowa (Democratic Progressive Party.