WUNRN
MALAWI - JOYCE BANDA BECOMES
MALAWI'S FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT
Joyce Banda,
STEPHANE DE
SAKUTIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
LYDIA POLGREEN - New York Times - April 7, 2012
JOHANNESBURG—The government
of Malawi confirmed Saturday that the country’s president, Bingu wa Mutharika,
had died, ending 24 hours of confusion and fervid speculation about his
condition.
The vice-president, Joyce Banda, who is next in line for the presidency under the country’s constitution, moved swiftly Saturday to take control of the government, lessening the likelihood that democratic succession would be interrupted in Malawi, one of central Africa’s most enduring democracies.
At a news conference in the capital, Lilongwe, on Saturday, Banda
appealed for calm and said she was taking charge of the government under the
terms of the constitution.
“As you can see, the constitution prevails,” Banda said. She
declared 10 days of mourning, and ambassadors, the army chief, senior
government officials and other prominent figures have been streaming to her
home in Lilongwe, perhaps indicating that she has already been acting as head
of state.
Banda was once an ally of Mutharika, but the two fell out over
efforts to groom the president’s brother, Peter, as a successor. Banda formed
her own political party. In remarks to the news media Friday, Malawi’s
information minister, Patricia Kaliati, hinted that the president’s party, the
Democratic Progressive Party, did not see Banda as a legitimate successor
because she had been expelled from the governing party.
Kaliati said the fact that “the vice-president started her own
political party makes her ineligible” to assume power in such a situation.
But efforts to block Banda from taking over as president appeared
to be fizzling. With the military, the judiciary and an increasing number of
cabinet members supporting Banda, any effort to replace her would face long
odds of success, analysts said.
Mutharika, 78, had a heart attack Thursday, but the government
refused to confirm his death until Saturday. A former World Bank economist,
Mutharika had been popular for his stewardship of Malawi’s economy, presiding
over a period of extraordinary growth and increased farm yields thanks to
popular fertilizer subsidies. He was first elected in 2004 and then returned to
power in 2009 with a big parliamentary majority.
But his popularity had waned as tobacco prices slumped and the
country faced a severe shortage of foreign currency. In the face of public
criticism, he became increasingly autocratic, earning him comparisons to
Hastings Kamuzu Banda, a dictator who ruled Malawi for four decades. Multiparty
democracy took hold in 1994.
There were few tears for Mutharika on the streets of the capital.
“If that is what was needed in order to improve our country’s
economic situation, then, I am afraid I’ll have to say the death is good news,”
said Eric Muganga, 48, a taxi driver.
Austin Lungu, 28, a bartender, said the mood was festive in the
bar where he worked.
“Everyone here is cerebrating,” he said. “We have been suffering
for a long time. This has to be very welcome news.”