In 2019 and 2020, Malawians witnessed something rare, something historic.
There was a time when the nation stood at the crossroads of justice and chaos. Electoral fraud was no longer a rumour whispered in backrooms, it was in the open.
Ballots marred with tip-ex. Tension stretching across the nation. And amidst all that, we saw real leadership. The then opposition leader in Parliament Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, Dr. Joyce Banda, and several other political heavyweights stood side-by-side with civil society and ordinary citizens, in the streets, facing teargas, armed police, arrests, and state brutality.
The nation saw Dr. Chakwera sitting on that hard bench outside the Lilongwe High Court, a symbol of the struggle, not because it was a trending moment, but because the stakes were national.
Contrast that with 2025.
On Thursday, the so-called demonstrations against the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and the use of Smartmatic failed to summon even an ounce of the spirit seen five years ago.
Instead of a united political and civil front, the streets were led by Silvester Namiwa, an opportunistic activist whose main drive is to go back to State House probably as a Press Officer again, and a few fringe others, while Malawi’s real opposition leaders and activists of note were nowhere to be seen.
And that absence is not just puzzling. It is revealing.
Let’s rewind.
When the country erupted in protests following the flawed 2019 elections, the stakes were high for the nation. The people had been robbed. Opposition leaders, then including Dr. Chakwera and Dr. Chilima, did not sit in their air-conditioned offices issuing soft statements or waiting for the dust to settle with a few bones broken before they appear on the scene.
They led.
They were present on the battle front, not by proxy, not through hired youth, but in person.
Dr. Chakwera marched in Lilongwe, joining activists such as Gift Trapence, Timothy Mtambo, Billy Mayaya and other. Dr. Chilima addressed the crowds all over the country. Joyce Banda stood firm in Blantyre. The people saw their leaders risking it all, because the cause was larger than ambition.
That powerful political-civil synergy helped bring about the historic nullification of the 2019 elections and the democratic renewal of 2020.
Now fast forward to Thursday.
Where was Dalitso Kabambe?
Where was Atupele Muluzi?
Where was Joyce Banda? Where was Kamlepo Kalua?
Where was Enock Chihana? Where was Frank Mwenifumbo?
Where were Gift Trapence, Benedicto Kondowe and Charles Kajoloweka?
The silence is damning.
Silvester Namiwa, alone with a few other not so influential Citizens for Credible Elections activists, took to the streets, demanding changes to MEC’s electoral systems.
The cause? Murky. The grievances? Not fully substantiated.
No opposition political party held a press conference to fully support and endorse the protests. Dr. Kabambe only appeared on the scene with hastily organized presser after the damage was already done.
No top-tier opposition figure marched. No petition signed by party leaders was presented. The entire protest was more of a token gesture, a street drama put together to satisfy a few egos and create scapegoats before the September elections.
The two human rights activists Trapence, who is the Chairperson for Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) and Kondowe, the National Advocacy Platform (NAP) Chairperson only appeared three days later after Namiwa was roughed up by street vendors and traders who were keen to protect their businesses and properties.
But the body language of these two activists tells the truth. They don’t believe in this mission. Their silence before the arrest speaks volumes.
In 2019, Trapence was everywhere. Holding pressers. Mobilizing the nation. Standing shoulder to shoulder with politicians and clergy. But now, there is hesitation, as if the cause lacks legitimacy.
And maybe it does.
And the results showed.
No momentum. No traction. No leadership. Just smoke and confusion.
Let’s be brutally honest.
In 2019, every voter had a stake. Every youth felt robbed. Every ballot mattered. That’s why the protests were national.
In 2025, it appears only a few individuals have a stake. A few political players who know they are likely to lose in September. A few rogue elements who want to discredit MEC now, so that when the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) wins, they can cry foul.
It’s a desperate pretext to claim rigging, long before the votes are cast.
This time, it’s not about justice or democracy. It’s about power. Raw, selfish power.
And that’s why politicians stayed away. They know this is a smokescreen, there is no real injustice here. They know the system, despite its flaws, is intact. They know Smartmatic is just a buzzword, not a threat.
So they leave Namiwa to fight a war they don’t believe in.
The elephant in the room. If the system is truly broken, why haven’t these political parties taken MEC to court?
Why haven’t they filed for judicial reviews, injunctions, or electoral system audits through formal channels?
The answer is sobering: they know the system will hold.
If there were any credible legal grounds, parties would have scrambled to court like they did in 2019.
Instead, they’ve chosen silence, and silence, in politics, is never neutral. It’s an admission.
Malawians must wake up.
These street dramas are not signs of public outrage, they are stage-managed tantrums by political orphans who are afraid of the ballot box.
True opposition does not mobilize after it loses, it mobilizes before, with strategy, facts, and public trust.
This year’s silence from the real players shows something big: They’ve already conceded.
They know MCP has the numbers. They know they’ve failed to unite. They know the ground is slipping.
So they hide. And they pay and send Namiwa to burn on their behalf.
We must resist romanticizing every protest as noble or just.
Not every cause deserves solidarity. Not every street march is a call to justice.
Sometimes, it’s just a decoy.
And this week, Malawians saw through it.
The true battle for Malawi’s soul was fought in 2019, with unity, courage, and purpose.
What we saw this week was a desperate ploy by desperate men trying to manufacture a political lifeline where there is none.
Malawians must stay alert, stay informed, and most importantly stay awake to the difference between genuine leadership and cheap theatrics.
Because this time, the only thing at stake is someone’s failed political ambition.
Not your democracy.
