Malawi is back to 1959.   In that year, on 3rd March, the then governor [the equivalence of the President today], Sir Robert Armitage, declared a State of Emergency after a series of demonstrations, popular resentments and agitations by Malawians regarding how they were being governed.

At the core of these popular actions was a mass discontent among Malawians who felt Armitage’s government was deaf to their prevailing social and economic needs.

To them, they felt the solution was supposed to be political—let’s change the system of government, from being ruled by whites to ruling ourselves.

Look at what is happening around you, today.

President Peter Mutharika, just like Armitage, is facing a series of demonstrations, popular resentments and agitations from various pockets of the country.

Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) is unwavering in its wave of protests demanding the chopping off MEC’s chair Jane Ansah.

In the north, citizens are up in arms, uncompromising with street protests, against a system of selecting students to public universities.

Opposition parties are in court asking for a rerun of an election that Mutharika won. In Dedza, citizens are up in arms against government’s decision to transfer a district commissioner whom the people feel is fighting corruption.

From a distance, you would think that the waves of protests being witnessed are, principally, a show of post-electoral conflicts challenging the legitimacy of Mutharika. Far from it.

Just like in the years leading up to 1959, what we are witnessing, today, is summer discontent emanating from the prevailing social and economic challenges facing most average Malawians.

Just look around. Poverty is deepening among Malawians, especially urban dwellers. Hunger is refusing to let off millions every year—despite billions invested in subsidies.

Corruption is stinking and there is a stagnant perspective that the State is protecting those involved.

Besides, there is a strong feeling of strategic marginalization from people of other regions—something which is breeding feelings of regionalism and ethnicism.

All these variables sums up a spirit of discontent which results in a wave of frustrations and anger in the hearts of the governed.

Often, as read in history, when a nation is angry, people tend to vent such feelings either through capitalizing on immediate mishaps of the incumbents or resurrecting unsolved historical injustices. In fact, this is what we are witnessing today—Malawians using elections, quota system and corruption in councils, to stage large scale demonstrations that are violent and unwavering.

These protests, seen from history, aims at seeking redress from the State. People want engage the State regarding the continued dissatisfaction of how they are being governed.

Unfortunately, just Armitage, Mutharika is trying all he can, evading these voices either through confronting them with a heavy hand or just acting indifferent as if everything is rosy. Its poor leadership at its core.

Historian John McCracken sums our times quite well in the book ‘Malawi in Crisis: The 1959/1960 Nyasaland State of Emergency and its Legacy’.

He writes: “Yet if the 1959 Emergency is notable for the amount of suffering inflicted on Malawians, it also marks a notable victory for the forces of nationalism, a victory that compelled a fundamental reassessment of colonial policy.”

Today, we can say that, though these demonstrations and protests are having a dread on Malawians, there is a great amount of victory being won by Malawians in exposing deep weaknesses of Mutharika’s governing style—something he must stand up and address. If he doesn’t, 1959 remains a red flag for politicians. Step up or they will step you aside.