As thousands of Malawian students in Form Two sit for their Junior Certificate (JC) examinations this week, a shameful and selfish political spectacle unfolds, led by none other than Alfred Gangata, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Vice President for the Central Region, and his political godfather, Norman Paulosi Chisale, widely seen as the de facto leader of the party.
The duo is spearheading anti-government demonstrations that have sparked fear, disrupted economic activity, and now threaten to interfere with national examinations. If there ever was a time to reflect on the dangers of unprincipled leadership, it is now.
Gangata and Chisale are not just irresponsible; they are emblematic of a deepening rot in Malawian politics, where educational fraud, political arrogance, and sheer disregard for national interest merge to create chaos.
It is no coincidence that the two men pushing for violent street protests are also men who never valued education enough to pursue it honestly.
Let’s begin with the facts.
Alfred Gangata, currently facing charges related to certificate fraud, paid someone to obtain a basic Malawi Schools Certificate of Education (MSCE) for him. In any serious democracy, such an act would disqualify someone from any public role, let alone leadership. But in the DPP, it appears to be a badge of honour.
Then there’s Norman Chisale, or Pythius Hiwa by another name, whose controversial rise to power began with a JCE certificate obtained fraudulently.
That document paved the way for his enlistment in the Malawi Defence Force and set him on a trajectory to becoming the most feared and politically protected figure during the Mutharika administration.
So here we are: two men whose paths were paved by academic deceit are now trying to sabotage the futures of young Malawians sitting for life-defining examinations. These are the people who claim to have Malawi’s best interests at heart.
The DPP is not short of men and women with sound academic qualifications. The party counts among its ranks lawyers, economists, professors, and technocrats who rose through the ranks due to their education. And yet, conspicuously, most of them are missing from the fray. Interesting.
While Gangata and Chisale prepare to unleash chaos under the guise of protest, the DPP intelligentsia remains disturbingly silent.
Why? Because they know. They know these demonstrations are not about justice, democracy, or electoral integrity. They are a desperate ploy to destabilize the country, distract the citizenry, and create a scapegoat for the inevitable loss awaiting the DPP in the upcoming September polls.
And more importantly, they know the irreparable harm such acts can inflict on Malawi’s already fragile education system.
Is it possible that these educated DPP members, some of whom benefited from an uninterrupted school calendar under Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, realize that aligning themselves with Gangata’s street politics would stain their own reputations.
If so, then they must do more than stay silent—they must speak out.
By insisting on holding demonstrations on a day when thousands of students are scheduled to sit for critical examinations, Gangata and Chisale have made one thing painfully clear: the academic future of Malawian youth means absolutely nothing to them.
Let’s consider what this means for a Form Two student from a township like Mchesi or Area 36, who has studied for months and whose family has sacrificed financially to get them to this point.
Tomorrow, that student must weigh whether to risk their life walking to school through potentially violent protests, or to stay home and forfeit their examinations. It is a cruel and unnecessary choice, and it has been forced upon them by men who have nothing to lose because they never truly believed in education in the first place.
Gangata wants Malawians to believe these are peaceful demonstrations organized by “concerned citizens.” Yet, the rhetoric and planning betray a much darker agenda.
He refuses to name the civil society organizations allegedly behind the march, likely because no credible ones actually are. In fact, reputable CSOs like the Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) and the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC) have pleaded with Gangata to postpone the demonstrations, pleas he initially agreed to, before arrogantly backtracking.
Ask yourself: why would a truly peaceful, citizen-led protest be championed at a DPP political rally? Why would it be announced by a party cadre and not through formal civil channels? The answer is simple; because it is not peaceful, and it is not citizen-led. It is a DPP operation dressed in civil clothing.
This is not civic engagement. This is political sabotage disguised as activism, and at the heart of it are two men who, having failed their own education, now seem determined to rob others of theirs.
The DPP has made it clear that it is willing to burn the country to the ground if it means regaining power. But even more insulting is its hypocrisy.
In 2020, the DPP criticized demonstrations led by civil society groups and opposition leaders then like Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera and Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima. Back then, protests were deemed a threat to national peace. Today, the same party is singing a different tune. Why? Because this time, they are the ones orchestrating the chaos.
This hypocrisy is amplified by the fact that the demonstrations have no clear agenda. What exactly are they protesting? Is it the same Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) whose legal mandate and processes the DPP once defended? Is it government spending? Education policy? Corruption? Or is it simply a smokescreen to destabilize the capital and create room for a narrative of victimhood in September?
When demonstrations lack purpose, they default to violence, and that’s what Gangata and Chisale are counting on. Their aim is to provoke government forces, spark retaliation, and portray themselves as martyrs in a fake struggle for democracy. It’s a playbook Malawi knows all too well.
In this context, the voices of parents must rise above the political noise. Whether you support the MCP or the DPP, UTM or UDF, every parent must agree on one thing: education is sacred. It is the only ladder that allows the children of vendors, farmers, housemaids, and security guards to climb into positions of influence.
If Gangata and Chisale were ever serious about building a better Malawi, they would be urging students to focus, not flee. They would be encouraging calm, not chaos. Their actions betray a hunger for power at all costs, even if it means trampling over the dreams of thousands of students.
Security forces must take every necessary measure to ensure the safety of students and teachers. There is already enough stress and pressure during examination periods; the presence of chaos in the streets only adds psychological trauma to learners.
The Malawi Defence Force and Malawi Police Service must do what is right, protect our national interests and, above all, protect our future.
Let it not be that a student’s future is stolen on the streets because two power-hungry men decided to unleash anarchy.
It is said that a nation that does not invest in its youth has no future. But even worse is a nation that allows its youth to be sabotaged by the very people who devalued education through fraud and deceit.
Alfred Gangata and Norman Chisale are not fit to lead, not just because they cheated their way through life, but because they lack the vision and empathy required to lead a nation forward. They are symptoms of a broken political culture that rewards loyalty over integrity, noise over substance, and chaos over stability.
We must not let them dictate the future of our children. Not now. Not ever.
