June 2, 2013
Today we
visited the mausoleum of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda. We had the privilege of viewing the museum
with a tour guide as well as Dr. Vokhiwa’s sister who designed the landscape
for the mausoleum. After learning about
this man at the mausoleum and later talking about Dr. Vokhiwa’s life under the
rule of President Banda, I wanted to know more
He
was a controversial president who was also loved by the people. He worked his way up from being a smart boy to president
of his country. He studied and worked
abroad, led Malawi to independence, and created Malawi out of Nyasaland. He also had whims like forbidding women to
wear pants, ordering that his picture be present in offices but never lower
than a clock, and threw his opponents in the Shire river to be eaten by
crocodiles.
Banda always carried a fly-wisk as a symbol of authority and was know as the lion of Africa. This is a picture of a pot at his mausoleum.
Below is a brief synopsis of his life taken
from Wikipedia.
Early life
Kamuzu Banda was born near Kasungu in Malawi (then British Central Africa)
to Mphonongo Banda and Akupingamnyama Phiri. His date of birth is unknown, as
it took place when there was no birth registration. A biographer, Philip Short,
gives February 1898 as the most likely date. His official birthday was 14 May
1906, and this date is documented in some biographical accounts.
The name Kamuzu means "a little
root" and was given to him because he was conceived after his mother had
been given root herbs by a medicine man to cure infertility.[2] His surname,
Banda means "a small hut". He took the Christian name of Hastings after being baptised into the Church of Scotland, naming himself after John
Hastings, a Scottish missionary working near his village whom he admired. The
prefix doctor was earned through his education.[2]
Around 1915–16, Banda left home on foot with
Hanock Msokera Phiri, an uncle who had been a teacher at the nearby Livingstonia mission school, for Hartley, Southern Rhodesia (now Chegutu, Zimbabwe). In 1917, he left on foot for Johannesburg in South Africa. He worked at the
Witwatersrand Deep Mine on the Transvaal Reef for several years. During this
time, he met Bishop W. T. Vernon of the African Methodist Episcopal Church
(AME), who offered to pay his tuition fee at a Methodist school in the United States if he could pay
his own passage.[2] In 1925, he left for New York.
Life abroad (1925–1958)
United States
Banda studied in the high school section of
Wilberforce Institute, an African American AME college now known as Central State University,
in Wilberforce, Ohio, and graduated in 1928. With his
financial support now ended, Banda earned some money on speaking engagements
arranged by the Ghanaian educationalist Kweyir Aggrey, whom he had
met in South Africa.
Speaking at a Kiwanis club meeting, he met
Dr. Herald, with whose help he enrolled as a premedical student at Indiana University, where he lodged with Mrs. W.N.
Culmer. At Bloomington, he wrote several essays about his native Chewa tribe for
the folklorist Stith Thompson, who introduced him to Edward Sapir, an anthropologist at the University of Chicago,
to which, after four semesters, he transferred.
During his period there, he collaborated with
the anthropologist and linguist Mark Hanna Watkins, providing information on
Chewa culture. In Chicago, he lodged with an African-American, Corinna
Saunders. He majored in history, graduating with a B. Phil. in 1931. During
this time, he enjoyed financial support from Mrs. Smith, whose husband, Douglas
Smith, had made fortunes from patent medicines and Pepsodent toothpaste and as a member of the Eastman
Kodak board. He then, still with financial support from these and other
benefactors (including Dr. Walter B. Stephenson of the Delta Electric Company),
studied medicine at Meharry Medical College
in Tennessee, from which he graduated in 1937.
United Kingdom
To practice medicine in territories of the British Empire, however, he was required to get a
second medical degree; he attended the University of Edinburgh. His
studies were funded by stipends of 300 pounds per year from the government of
Nyasaland (to facilitate his return there as a doctor) and from the Scottish
Presbyterian Kirk; neither of these benefactors was aware of the other. (There
are conflicting accounts of this.) He enrolled for courses in tropical diseases
in Liverpool, the Nyasaland government terminated his stipend. He was forced to
leave Liverpool when he refused on conscientious grounds to be conscripted as
an Army doctor. He also became an elder of the Church of Scotland.
Between 1941 and 1945, he worked as a doctor
in London. In 1946, at the behest of Chief Mwase of Kasungu, whom he had met in
England in 1939, and other politically active Malawians, he represented the Nyasaland African Congress
at the fifth Pan African Congress in Manchester. From this time, he took an
increasingly active interest in his native land, advising the Congress and
providing it some financial support. With help from sympathetic British, he
also lobbied in London on their behalf.
Federation of
Rhodesia and Nyasaland and move to Ghana
Banda was actively opposed to the efforts of
Sir Roy Welensky, a politician in Northern
Rhodesia, to form a federation between Southern and Northern Rhodesia with
Nyasaland, a move which he feared would result in further deprivation of rights
for the Nyasaland blacks. The (as he famously called it) "stupid"
federation was formed in 1953.
It was rumored with some excitement that he
would return to Nyasaland in 1951, but he moved instead to the Gold Coast
in West Africa.
Call to return home
Several influential Congress leaders,
including Henry Chipembere, Kanyama Chiume, Dunduzu Chisiza and T.D.T. Banda (no relation) pleaded with him to
return to Nyasaland to take up leadership of their cause. A delegation sent to
London met with Dr. Banda at the Port of Liverpool where he was making
arrangements to return to Ghana. He agreed to return, but asked for some time
to sort out a few private matters, probably seeking to clear his political name
after the Mrs. French debacle. The delegation returned without him and
proceeded to make arrangements for his imminent return. After two false starts,
including a fracas between the police and African crowds threatening to storm a
BOAC airplane rumored to be carrying Dr. Banda at Chileka Airport, Banda
finally made a showing on 6 July 1958 after an absence of about 42 years. In
August, at Nkata Bay, he was acclaimed as the leader of the Congress.
Return to his homeland
He soon began touring the country, speaking
against the Central African Federation
(also known as the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland),
and urging its citizens to become members of the party. (Allegedly, he was so
out of practice in his native Chichewa
that he needed an interpreter, a role which was apparently performed by John Msonthi and later by John Tembo, who remained close to him for most of his
career). He was received enthusiastically wherever he spoke, and resistance to
imperialism among the Malawians became increasingly common. By February 1959,
the situation had become serious enough that Rhodesian troops were flown in to
help keep order, and a state of emergency was declared. On 3 March, Banda,
along with hundreds of other Africans, was arrested in the course of
"Operation Sunrise". He was imprisoned in Gwelo (now Gweru) in Southern Rhodesia, and leadership of the
Malawi Congress Party (the Nyasaland African Congress under a new name) was
temporarily assumed by Orton Chirwa, who was released from prison in
August 1959.
Release from prison
and path to independence
The mood in Britain, meanwhile, had long been
moving toward decolonization due to pressure from its colonies.
Banda was released from prison in April 1960 and was almost immediately invited
to London for talks aimed at bringing about independence. Elections were held
in August 1961. While Banda was technically nominated as Minister of Land,
Natural Resources and Local Government, he became de facto Prime Minister of
Nyasaland—a title granted to him formally on 1 February 1963. He and his fellow
MCP ministers quickly expanded secondary education, reformed the so-called
Native Courts, ended certain colonial agricultural tariffs and made other
reforms. In December 1962, R. A. Butler, British Secretary of State for
African Affairs, essentially agreed to end the Federation.
On 6 July 1964, exactly six years after Banda's
return to the country, Nyasaland became the independent Commonwealth of Malawi.
President of Malawi
New constitution
and consolidation of power
Malawi adopted a new constitution on 6 July
1966, in which the country was declared a republic. Banda was elected the
country's first president for a five-year term; he was the only candidate. The
new document granted Banda wide executive and legislative powers, and also
formally made the MCP the only legal party. However, the country had already
been a de facto one-party state since independence. In 1970, a congress
of the MCP declared Banda its president for life. In 1971, the legislature
declared Banda President for Life of Malawi as well. His official title was "His Excellency the Life President of the Republic
of Malaŵi, Ngwazi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda." The title Ngwazi
means "chief of chiefs" (more literally, "great lion", or,
some would say, "conqueror") in Chicheŵa.
Banda was mostly viewed externally as a
benign, albeit eccentric, leader, an image fostered by his English-style
three-piece suits, matching handkerchiefs, walking stick and fly-whisk. He also spoke no Chichewa, and relied on a
translator, John Msonthi. In June 1967,
he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Massachusetts
with the encomium " ... pediatrician to his infant
nation".
Life in Banda's
Malawi
Cult of personality
Banda was the subject of a very pervasive cult of personality. Every business building was
required to have an official picture of him hanging on the wall, and no poster,
clock or picture could be higher than his portrait. Before every movie, a video
of Banda waving to the people 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. Churches had to be government
sanctioned.
Dress code and
conservatism
His government supervised the people's lives
very closely. Early in his rule, Banda instituted a dress code which was rooted
in his socially conservative predilections. For example, women were not allowed
to bare their thighs or to wear trousers. Banda argued that the dress code was
not instilled to oppress women but to encourage honor and respect for them. For
men, long hair and beards were banned as a sign of dissent. Men could be seized
and forced to have a haircut at the discretion of border officials or police.
Kissing in public was not allowed, nor were movies that contained depictions of
kissing.
Even foreigners coming into Malawi were
subject to Banda's dress code. In the 1970s, prospective visitors to the
country were informed of the following requirement for obtaining visas:
Female passengers will not be permitted to
enter the country if wearing short dresses or trouser-suits, except in transit
or at Lake Holiday resorts or National parks. Skirts and dresses must cover the
knees to conform with Government regulations. The entry of 'hippies' and men
with long hair and flared trousers is forbidden.
Women's issues
Banda was very supportive of women's rights compared to other African rulers
during his reign. He founded Chitukuko Cha Amai m'Malawi (CCAM) to address the
concerns, needs, rights and opportunities for women in Malawi. This institution
motivated women to excel in education and government and encouraged them to
play more active roles in their community, church and family. The foundation's
National Advisor was Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira, the official hostess for the
former president.
Infrastructure
In 1964, after serving as a government
minister in the colonial administration, Banda adopted a macroeconomic policy
aimed at accelerating economic development for the betterment of Malawians. He
settled on the Rostow model of "catch up" economics,
wherein Malawi would vigorously pursue import substitution industrialization
(ISI). This entailed both a quest for "self-sufficiency" for Malawi —
becoming less reliant on its former colonial master — and growth of an
industrial base that could ensure Malawi was capable of producing its own goods
and services. Such capacity would then be used to catch up and even overtake
the West. An infrastructure development program was initiated under the
Development Policies (DEVPOLs)
documents that Malawi adopted from 1964 onwards. The country's infrastructure
benefited through massive road construction programs. With the decision to
shift the capital city from Zomba to Lilongwe
(against vociferous objections from the British preference for the economically
healthy and well-developed Blantyre), a new road was built linking Blantyre and
Zomba to Lilongwe. The Capital City Development Corporation (CCDC) in Lilongwe
was itself a beehive of infrastructure development, supported by planning and
funds from apartheid-era South Africa.
The British refused to finance the move to Lilongwe. The CCDC became the sole
development agent for Lilongwe; putting up roads, the government seat at
Capital Hill, etc. Other infrastructure entities were added, such as Malawi
Hotels Limited, which undertook massive projects such as the Mount Soche,
Capital Hotel and Mzuzu Hotel. On the industrial side, Malawi Development Corporation
(MDC) was tasked with setting up industries and other businesses. Meanwhile,
Dr. Banda's own Press Corporation Limited
and MYP's Spearhead Corporation
embarked on business initiatives that lead to an economic boom during the mid-
to late 1970s.
However, by 1979/80, the bubble had burst due
to the global economic crisis set in motion by the Yom Kippur War between Israel and the Arabs in 1973. Rising oil prices and
falling global commodity prices combined to wreak havoc on a fragile and
landlocked Malawian economy based on an insular and indefensible ISI
macroeconomic strategy. Increasingly, the economy was rearranged into a
political tool to serve the consumption needs of the emerging Malawian
middle-class and thus render it less prone to revolution.
Banda personally founded Kamuzu Academy, a school modelled on Eton, at which Malawian children were taught Latin and Ancient Greek
by expatriate classics teachers, and disciplined if they were caught speaking
Chichewa. Many of the school’s alumni have assumed leadership roles in
medicine, academia and business in Malawi and abroad. The school remains one of
Dr Banda's most lasting legacies. It is claimed, probably incorrectly and
unfairly, that Dr Banda spent almost all the country's education budget on this
project,[8] while increasingly ignoring the needs and welfare of the greater
majority [80%] of Malawians toiling in the rural areas. The National Rural Development Program
and Rural Growth Centers
were tentative and belated policies aimed at diverting rural populations from
moving to the few urban areas which Dr. Banda's ISI macroeconomic policies had
created and were now being battered by the arrival of more and more rural
people seeking better opportunities.
Eventually, with the collapse of the Cold
War, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund
arrived, imposing a series of Structural Adjustment Programs
from 1987.
Wealth
It is believed that during his rule, Banda
accumulated at least US$320 million in personal assets, thought to be
invested in everything from agriculture to mining interests in South Africa.
The most controversial part of this is the suspicion that his two
grandchildren, who currently reside in the US and South Africa, are the heirs
to the Banda fortune. One of the grandchildren graduated from law school and
left for the US, while the other remains in South Africa.
Foreign policy
Relations with
African countries
While many southern African nations traded
with apartheid-era South Africa out of economic necessity,
Malawi was the only African nation that recognized South Africa and established
diplomatic relations with it, including a trade treaty which angered other
African leaders. They threatened to expel Malawi from the Organization of
African Unity until Banda left power. Banda responded by accusing other African
countries of hypocrisy, saying in a public speech to his parliament "There
is no terror, Cassius, in your threats" (Julius Caesar). He told
them to concentrate on convincing the South African government that apartheid
was unnecessary. Furthermore, he added that "[African leaders] practice
disunity, not unity, while posing as the liberators of Africa. While they play
in the orchestra of Pan Africanism, their own Romes are burning". He
became only partially rehabilitated in the eyes of other African leaders after
the demise of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Political demise
The transition toward democracy in Malawi
began in the early 1990s when international aid donors demanded that Banda
implement reforms aimed at making his government transparent and accountable to
the people and the international community as a condition for aid. The British
government also stopped their financial support. This opened up the country to
democratic multiparty politics. In March 1992, Catholic bishops in Malawi
issued a Lenten pastoral letter that criticized Banda and his
government. Students of the University of Malawi
at Chancellor College and the Polytechnic joined protests and demonstrations to
support the bishops, forcing authorities to close the campuses. In April 1992, Chakufwa Chihana, a labour unionist, openly called
for a national referendum on the political future of Malawi. He was arrested
before he finished his speech at Lilongwe International Airport. In May, labor
riots in the city of Blantyre turned political with demands that Banda give up
power.
By October 1992, this mounting pressure from
within and from the international community forced Banda to concede to hold a referendum
on whether to maintain the one-party state. The referendum was held on 14 June
1993, resulting in an overwhelming vote (64 percent) in favor of multiparty
democracy. After this, political parties besides the MCP were formed and
preparation for the general elections began. Banda worked with the newly forming
parties and the church, and made no protest when a special assembly stripped
him of his title of President for Life, along with most of his powers. The
transition from a rigid authoritarian regime to democracy was fairly peaceful.
After some questions about his health, Banda
ran in Malawi's first truly democratic presidential election in 1994. He was
roundly defeated by Bakili Muluzi, a Yao
from the southern region of the country, whose two terms in office were not
without serious controversy.
The party Banda led since taking over from
Orton Chirwa in 1960, the Malawi Congress Party, remains a major force in
Malawian politics.
Death
Banda died in a hospital in South Africa on
15 November 1997, reportedly age 101. Although buried with pomp, in the decade
after his death, there were calls for a more substantial memorial for the
country's first president. Construction of a mausoleum with provision for a
library and a dancing arena was begun in 2005.
