Malawi's own Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

by Felix Ngasama

Before any Malawians decide to give their vote to John Tembo in the 2009 presidential elections, they must know that during the last 5 to 10 years of Kamuzu Banda's rule, John Tembo had assumed behind-the-scenes presidential powers and he was running the country in a ruthless and dictatorial fashion as Banda's clone.

Secondly, people must ask themselves why Kamuzu Banda surprised Malawi and the world when he chose Guanda Chakuamba as his running mate during the first democratic elections in 1994. Banda himself rejected Tembo and did not anoint his loyal gatekeeper, bootlicker and henchman in-chief as his successor but instead chose Chakuamba. For the first time Banda openly announced his succession plan to all and sundry but surprise, surprise, John Tembo was not featured.

Why did Banda not choose John Tembo as his running mate and anointed successor after their "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" relationship and plunder of Malawi?

It is highly likely that the old dictator had taken the road to Damascus and returned a converted person only to find that the Sundance Kid (John Tembo) had not followed him this time and he (Tembo) wanted to still maintain the dictatorship against the open status quo sweeping across Malawi then.

Tembo had positioned himself to take over from a very old and soon to die Banda and might have seen the democratic winds of change sweeping over Malawi as an obstacle to his expected take over of the presidency. John Tembo might have resisted from giving democracy its rightful place in Malawi but Kamuzu Banda had already taken a paradigm shift and refused to maintain a system that was now openly abhorred by the people. It is highly likely that when it came to choosing his successor, Banda chose Guanda Chakuamba since John Tembo still wanted to maintain a dictatorial one-party - Malawi Congress Party (MCP) - state in Malawi.

It may be that for the first time Banda got to see and hear directly how badly the ordinary people felt about his iron fist rule over them. Banda might have finally come face to face with reality after being cocooned, shielded and kept out of touch with the people by John Tembo.

Banda might have realised that all the praise-singing, ululating and dancing by mbumba and other traditional dancers wherever he went was just an empty exercise, a subterfuge masterminded by Tembo to create a false reflection of the people's genuine feelings. In the end even Kamuzu Banda himself saw John Tembo for what he is, realised that he was not good for the future of Malawi and chose Chakuamba as his successor instead.

Why should Malawians recycle a reject? What guarantee do Malawians have that Tembo will not reassemble his old guard and return the country to Banda style dictatorship after being Banda's apprentice and briefcase carrier all those 30 years?

John Tembo had a better opportunity than any other person in Malawian history to use his influence to convince Banda to loosen his tyrannical grip of Malawi. Tembo had his niece Cecilia Kadzamira as Banda's mistress or ‘official hostess'. This arrangement presented the best opportunity that ever was for John Tembo to whisper good things through Cecilia to Kamuzu Banda and influence the dictator to embrace democracy. However Tembo used this arrangement to rather position himself as Banda's chief henchman and together, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they pillaged and plundered Malawi with gay abandon.

Recently John Tembo seems to have momentarily found himself in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" type of situation. While waiting for his turn to address an MCP rally in Lilongwe, John Tembo seemingly went into a fantasy. In the fantasy Tembo took a long and winding road to Damascus, and when he came back to the real world he told the people at the rally that he had changed. Malawians must not be naive and gullible to believe such a half-hearted and opportunistic election-eve pronouncement aimed at merely squeezing a vote out of them.

John Tembo cannot claim that he has changed while still clinging to a parliamentary seat for nearly half a century as we speak. Malawians should open their eyes and realize that John Tembo has held his Member of Parliament position as a representative for Dedza south, his home constituency, since 1960 up to this day. It goes without saying that he still sees no one capable to lead other than himself.

Banda had become life-president of Malawi until the democratic winds of change in the early 1990's blew him off. But there is still another man, a megalomaniac who is quietly holding a parliamentary position for life in Malawi. That man is John Tembo the life member of parliament for Dedza south. If he can cling to a mere parliamentary seat for half a century - needless to say for life - God forbid what he will do if he becomes president.

John Tembo must not lie to the people that he has changed. It will require Tembo to be on more roads to Damascus than an average Syrian truck driver before he can change considering the many atrocities and other evil deeds he committed in the name of Ngwazi Kamuzu Banda for all those 30 years.