THE MWANZA TRIAL AS A SEARCH FOR A USABLE MALAWIAN POLITICAL PAST

The main thesis of this paper is that nations need memories and that t here is in many contemporary African states a need to create a memory of the period between independence and the reintroduction of multipart yism. That process often takes the form of inquests into human rights abuses which can result in trials. The trial in Malawi of six people-i ncluding the former president Kamuzu Banda and his most loyal follower J.Z.U. Tembo-on the accusation of conspiring to murder four politicia ns in 1983 and to destroy relevant evidence is an example. This articl e discusses how the reactions of the present ruling party (UDF) and go vernment and the previous ruling party (MCP) and their leadership to t his trial differ. The trial is seen as a struggle about the interpreta tion of the past which is pur in the context of the actual events in 1 983 as these came out in the trial. The fundamental question which aro se is whether responsibility for whatever happened in Malawi in that p eriod can squarely be put in the hands of a trimuvirate which was in t otal control of what happened or whether decision making-including tho se concerning human rights abuses-was much more diffused throughout so ciety. The first version of events lacks evidence to substantiate it. The result of the trial was therefore an acquittal which was held up i n an appeal by the state. The second version portrays Kamuzu Banda as a leader who could be deceived by his environment, which is at varianc e with the way many Malawians, not exclusively MCP supporters, saw his role.