When watchdogs become lapdogs:

Civil society challenges those in power. Governments respond with varying combinations of resistance, intimidation, co-optation or force. Regime change follows, only for the cycle to begin again.

While the actors have changed, the underlying tensions have remained remarkably consistent. The relationship deteriorated sharply during Bingu wa Mutharika’s second term. As the economy weakened and concerns over governance mounted, civil society organisations intensified calls for political and economic reforms.

The government dismissed many of the criticisms, setting the stage for confrontation. Tensions culminated in nationwide demonstrations on July 20 2011. The protests, organised by CSOs, were met with resistance from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) cadets and security forces.

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Police used live ammunition against demonstrators, leaving 20 people dead, many others injured and hundreds arrested, including protest leaders and civil society activists. The violence remains one of the darkest chapters in Malawi’s democratic history. Just months earlier, in April 2011, the government had expelled British High Commissioner Fergus Cochrane-Dyet after a leaked diplomatic cable described Mutharika as becoming increasingly autocratic and intolerant of criticism.

Nearly a decade later, civil society again found itself at the centre of a national political crisis. Following the disputed May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections, the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) launched sustained nationwide demonstrations demanding the resignation of then Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah.

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