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First published in The Nation newspaper of 15 July 2019 Yet again, we experienced another shocking post-election event. On Monday, a grouping of women, organised a press conference in Blantyre where they drummed support for Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah.   I am concerned with the gender and feminist lenses through which the organisers were trying to call us to look at the demonstrations organised against Justice Ansah. Seodi White, one of the major architects of the grouping and all the women who patronised the meeting are misguided to think that the demonstrations organised against Ansah were about her sex and the gender roles placed on women in Malawian culture. This contradicts the gender and feminist movement! Since the gender and feminism movement first emerged, proponents and supporters of the academy have made serious inroads in trying to achieve a more functional and conducive environment for women. Indeed, we have witnesse

Malawians voted for multiparty democracy in the referendum of June 1993. Through the referendum, Malawians expressed their desire for parties to co-exist in a market based political field; where the one with the bestselling skills should excel. In addition, they also accepted that these groupings would surely have different ideas and ideologies and that belonging to either of them should be the total freedom of an individual. But for the existence of these political groupings, and peace in the country, there is a need for political tolerance. It can thus be only patriotism and an understanding of our past that should challenge every Malawian to be politically tolerant. Political tolerance at the conceptual level must be viewed to refer to the will to accept and recognise that the rights an individual enjoys, must also extend to organisations and persons whose view point differ from one’s own. From the foregoing, one cannot overemphasize the importance of political tolerance.

(First published in the Nation newspaper of 23 January, 2019) The 2019 tripartite elections are getting closer and closer by each passing day. On a preliminary note, I have observed that we have spent the last four years campaigning for these elections. Through no particular sophisticated method of research but mere casual observation, I have also observed that campaign and elections dominate our national development agenda at the expense of a development agenda. As this article argues, we must have a reversal of this order of things, and the youth must be the orchestrator. Have you watched political rallies? Have you followed social media debates? Have you been to colleges and universities and observed the college wings for political parties? Have you seen the flags flying on electricity poles and street lights and high trees? There was a youth in the making. This albeit insignificantly sends my first point to base, the youth is an integral part of Malawian politics. Take hi