MALAWI
Dr.' Banda in the Lead
HARRY FRANKLIN writes from Lusaka: 'What have you to say about a Rhodesian UDI?"No comment about that at all,' says Dr. Kamuzu Banda, and proceeds to blast Com- munism before embarking on President Nkrumah's Ilyushin aircraft for the Accra meet- ing of the OAU. Malawi still wears its new cloak of freedom with the attractive dash of Ruritanian drama, Dr. Banda playing the lead with an emotional fervour Which Garrick might have envied. TreaSon, Chinese plots, invasion, murder most foul—scoundrels, assassins—vengeance,' roars the Kamuzu in a voice that carries well to the gallery.
To relate the play to reality—and there is some reality in it—is not easy. One is not used to a Prime Minister so lacking in political finesse, or perhaps (how splendid the thought) simply scorn- ing to use any. He says exactly what he thinks and says it loud and clear. 'Bring me back Chipembere dead or alive,' were the Doctor's orders to his security forces, after the abortive little Fort Johnston revolution. The police and soldiers were unable to carry out this instruction and ex- minister Henry Chipembere is enjoying his unspecified studies in the US on a scholarship awarded to him with fine political impartiality by an American Foundation. Dr. Banda makes no secret of his dislike for the US and China— a nice balance.
Mr. Chiume is currently the arch-villain among the rebel ex-ministers. He is certainly up to no good in Dar-es-Salaam, as far as Dr. Banda is concerned, and would be wise to stay there, and avoid being brought back dead or alive to Zomba.
Art army patrol has just succeeded in obeying the standard instruction as regards the person of Medson Silombela, a motor mechanic by trade and one of Chipembere's principal lieutenants in the Fort Johnston affair. His Malawi police description noted that he was wanted for treason murder, arson and storebreaking. Dr. Banda limpid and public comment upon his arrest is 'They've brought him back alive. They shout have shot him. Now he'll have to be tried a 1. hanged. His swinging must be in public. I wa him to dangle until he breathes his last.' Inco venient though a trial may be to both Silombe and the Prime Minister (whosq comment 'canna have pleased Malawi's judiciary), the accused wil at least get a fair trial. There is nothing wr'in with Malawi's High Court.
The strangest thing about Malawi is that it I progressing quite well, although beset by rea danger of subversion, the extent of which i difficult to assess owing to Dr. Banda's emotion exaggeration and his engaging contempt for th free foreign press to which he will seldom giv information. But despite President Nyerere' denials (he may. be able to be more convincin in future, having removed the portfolio of exte nal affairs from his Prime Minister and possibl regained real power from him) there has bee and is, subversion stemming from Tanzania. Th infiltration of armed Malawi rebels is very small scale, but the Deputy Speaker and another NI were recently shot, though not killed.
The secret of Malawi's success so far =apart from the presence of a quietly betialcien, Governor-General and a young Colonial Servitl Chief Secretary of remarkable ability, bdih of whom will disappear next year—lies in the pe: sonality of Dr. Banda. He is a dictator, and (30° help ids enemies when he catches them. BO fteis• as a Madagascan minister recently described' biro, 'an honest African man.' The Prime Minister" emotional disturbances are always over himself or his local 'traitors.' In all major affairs, bt speaks the truth and acts on it, and when bt appears contradictory it is because circumstance' have changed.
He would not attend the Afro-Asian con fe rcna as a propaganda platform for the Chinese ,and bt pointed out that as there was no African solidarill and no Asian solidarity, Afro-Asian solidaritS was a myth. Now that China will not attend, Banda is going. 'Anything that China 'doesn' want, I want.' He wants more Europeans in hi' Parliament, knowing the value of their experience so he puts more in—regardless of panAlrica opinion. He discovers some embezilentely amongst his civil servants, so he amends the 1,0 to make the penalty up to life imprisonment. No talk of war against Rhodesia, or sSull' Africa, or the Portuguese colonies ever collie,/ from Dr. Banda. Instead he tartly rebukes Affl can leaders who try to get representatives of the'4, countries expelled from the UN specialise,' agencies, which he rightly says are concerned with science, not politics. The Prime Minister is concerned with ntakirli Malawi work, with building a new capital , Lilongwe, improving the railway to Mozambitill' port, developing industry, commerce and particdi larly agriculture. As for Mr. Smith and his UP he never mentions it now; having said oriel:' forthrightly, what he thought about it, he 19.: left it at that—and will do. The Prime Mini ;;tel: the best exponent in the world of the pol,ic) leaving other countries alone and conceair.00: on his own.
His people seem to like that. They have elected him President-Designate of the one-P3r,i, republic which will hoist its flag in July and th will swallow, with relish, the Constitution he ,:o prepared for them which gives him Pow'd resembling those usually (and vulgarly) attribw`,1 by private soldiers to the British Army C
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