Malawi President Has Failed, Say Catholic Bishops

The influential Catholic Church in Malawi has criticized President Lazarus Chakwera, saying the country has become worse in the four years of his leadership.

In a scathing attack that appears to be directed at the president, the church, through its bishops, said the country had witnessed a glaring failure of leadership.

In a 16-page pastoral letter titled The Sad Story of Malawi, read out in all catholic churches across the country on Sunday, it accused the administration of multiple failures including unfulfilled campaign promises, nepotism, and rampant corruption.

The church accuses Mr. Chakwera’s government of favoring members of an ethnic group or region when appointing people to top positions and victimizing journalists who expose corruption.

Malawi holds elections in 18 months and the timing of the pastoral letter is significant.

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The letter also suggested that when appointing officials, Mr Chakwera’s government favors people from the president’s ethnic group or region.

It is essential to ask candidates, what their record of service has been, and what they are capable of doing, before voting for them – not who they are where they come from, or what connections they have, the church wrote.

The letter also said the government had failed to raise people’s incomes even after the purchasing power of the local currency, the Malawian kwacha, had drastically fallen.

The church said it had attempted to privately engage with Mr Chakwera several times but had been largely unsuccessful, hence the decision to try a different approach through the letter.

Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu has acknowledged the issues raised by the church but says the government will not engage in an item-by-item response to the letter.

Instead, we will not get tired of utilizing engagements we do have with the clergy from time to time, Mr Kunkuyu said.