ATCHEYA & THE PRESIDENTAL COMEBACK PROJECT

Ambuje, in all our arguments on this issue, you may want to internalise this advice, the advice that one of the leading Lawyers in our land gave us, at Kamuzu College of Nursing, through me and my Executive Committee at the time; he said and I quote: - "The Law is double edged." To put it into context, in our studently (allow me to coin a word as well, see how you are influencing my writing, Ambuje) wisdom we decided we had had enough of one of our lecturers. The wrangle ballooned out of KCN and went to the University Office and the University office wrote back in very very simple terms, basically saying "the responsibility of hiring and firing lecturers rests with it (the University Office)...but that is all they did, they never addressed the main issue that led to an ugly situation like the one we had at hand...it bounced back to College level and it was becoming al legal issue at the close of each day and we made an executive decision, as the Kamuzu College Of Nursing Students' Union (KCNSU) under my dynamic leadership (hahahahaha) to start legal consultations - we had no idea how we were going to foot our bills, our account as KCNSU was in the red, every time, even after the college slashes MK30.00 from every student - apparently our predecessors had left lots of loans which books we had no access to - politics Ambuje, even at College level in the University of Malawi...the good thing though, with just one call from this "crafty Lawyer" to KCN first and then to the people at the University Office, the case went crashing...we were immediately called, as KCNSU executive members to be told that our concerns will be addressed...and Ambuje, they were - no court proceedings and the Lawyer, known to me personally, charged us nothing - That is what, Ambuje, positively crafty lawyers can do. I see that in the likes of Trevor Chimimba.

What is the essence of that background to Atcheya's story...let me
make it clear that I am one of those who think and deeply so that a
comeback of Atcheya onto the Presidency in Malawi is not, not even in the least sense, a good thing for the country...I can not think of anything positive that is motivating the "UDF's grassroots" into drafting Atcheya again, an idea Atcheya seems to be buying into... The idea, Ambuje, is to push home the fact that the Law is double edged.

Trevor and Hesse, Napoliyoni Dyanamite, Mukavango Buju, (and probably me) on one hand, you, Muthupo, Nyamainyameni, Melody Luhanga, MLK, on the other (may be Muthupo and me belong onto the centre, I am not sure) - all of us pushing onto this "constitutional rope) and when it snaps, the stronger and probably with the help of crafty Lawyers in our courts, will carry the day. When I come to that point, I always ask myself: "Who will have sufficient interest in this matter to commit it to our
Courts so it comes under litigation?" Who knows, I do not know and I do not want to know the answer to that question.

I doubt, very much, Ambuje, if this issue is about hatred or love for particular individual politicians - just that Atcheya comes too close to qualifying as having aroused questions about this area because of what I describe as "wild ambitions, political in nature."

As we debate the perceived constitutional shortfalls on this matter, my belief is that it goes beyond the constitution - an outrageous statement to make but probably necessary to advance my thinking on why the "Presidential comeback Project" soon to be undertaken by Atcheya if the UDF "grassroots" manage to convince him to comeback is futile, tragic and unreasonable for three main reasons and parties - Atcheya himself, the UDF and the Malawian people and it is the Malawian people I am greatly concerned about.

Atcheya - He may be heading for the biggest "showdown" of his
political career, it will be good, if he comes out victorious but, uuhuuuh, I do not want to think of this, if he comes out humbled, bruised and defeated, your guess as to what will have happened and will eventually happen is as good as mine. Politics can be dodgy and tricky and things do not always move in straight lines...Atcheya and his henchmen can take or leave this free piece of advice.

The UDF - The UDF has gone through a largely successful political
path until the following three projects were embarked on "the open terms bid, the third ("sad") Term bid and finally the Bingu Project. All these "projects" saw the UDF behaving like a headless chicken or a "cochroach placed in a hot pan" and in the process many of its prominent and dedicated members found it necessary to part ways with the party. As if this was not enough, these projects saw the ugly head of using the young people for selfish political objectives - we saw young democrats causing mayhem amidst the largely peaceful MALAWIAN people. And we can not, for a second, separate Atcheya from these projects...he was probably the "cause as well as the means" and what we see today (the ends) is as a result of that. Atcheya, embarking on a Presidential comeback project, may not end in a manner that may be good for the UDF - but hey, who can tell - it is Malawian politics at play here and surprises are not necessarily an exception.

The Malawian people - This is my main concern. The losers, when all
the battles will have been fought, will be the Malawian people. They may win very little, if any at all. Atcheya, if voted back in, will bring very little that we will be able to write about - we know what he did to the nation in his 1994 - 2004 period of (mis)rule. If he is not voted back in, after such an effortful bid to come back, his political opponents might hit back hard, in the process probably "burying his and UDF's" political path, robbing Malawians that cherish a successful UDF, without Atcheya, a party that they would love to succeed.

Further to this the distractions that Atcheya and UDF are causing to all of us and particularly the Government are not good for our
economic, social and political growth...Atcheya, as we speak, is attracting unnecessary attention and any politician, serious about curving a political agenda that is progressive, will not ignore the fact that a former president is on a bid to have another go at the presidency and particularly for a sitting president, who largely has to think of the business of running a government and it is the Malawian people who lose out...the President and his cronies are still drawing their salaries, allowances and benefits at the tax payers' expense, the Former President, in this case Dr Muluzi is drawing his pension without qualms, all MPs are and will continue to draw their salaries, allowances and other benefits, Lawyers and judges who may be involved in settling the raging legal battles that may emanate from this issue will cash in, huge sums of money - but in one way or another all these people will be, or indeed are concerned with the fact that a former president is attempting to come back and "rule" again - the losses to the Malawian people, in as far as a progressive developmental agenda is concerned, are immeasurable.

Atcheya needs to do the needful, tell the "UDF grassroots" who want
to draft him back in onto the presidential bid, that he appreciates
their trust and confidence but that he had his share of the cake already - and one can not eat his cake and have it too."

Isaac Cheke Ziba,
Livingston - Scotland.