He is one of the longest-serving politicians in Malawi and he is the only legislator who has been to the National Assembly for more than half a century, and has never been out of it. It should be a peculiar kind of hope and courage that keeps him going even in the midst of turbulent waters. And now, rumour is rife that he has been given another opportunity to attempt to relocate MCP to the State House.
Hope has no alternative in the midst of terrible crises; it is the only thing that calms the situation, and paints a brighter future, even if it may just be illusory. Men are not prosecuted for hoping – even if it means hoping against hope – and hope does not invite any kind of investigation. Nevertheless, oftentimes, it exhibits wisdom not to hope against hope in circumstances that have perfect alternatives.
When all popularity is almost utterly gone; when old age is catching up with us; and when it is clear that we have achieved enough in whatever capacities we have been, it is prudent to step down gently and let others take over. In the whole history of mankind, no leader has ever been dethroned in a humble way, for the fact that they were contesting, on its own, implies any loss amounts to frustration.
John Zenus Ungapake Tembo has tossed others in different directions; and he, too, has had a fair share of the same. And even though he has been two times unlucky in his most treasured dreams – the race to the State House – he keeps on moving towards his destination with hope; a destination that he cannot discard or stop dreaming about. Yet, it seems there is little or no possibility of him ever owning the keys to the State House.
“Tembo has reached the end of his usefulness and MCP should tread carefully if it wants its popularity to be maintained. It should make sure Tembo steps down. After all, he has achieved quite a lot and he should be proud of that, otherwise, if he clings to ‘power’, he will be frustrated to the utmost one time,” observes Joseph Manda, a political and social commentator based in Zomba.
At 77, he was the oldest among the seven candidates who vied for the Malawi’s top most job. But unfortunately, he never made it. And he has never made it – not even when he was Gwanda Chakuwamba’s number two in 1999. Perhaps, that is why he still hopes for the hot seat, for it is usually in the realm of nature for those who become successful ‘too early’ to stop hoping for more. But time and tide waits for no man, not even Tembo.
“In 1960, two years after Dr. Banda's arrival in the country from Ghana to lead the independence struggle from the British colonial rule, Tembo took up a parliamentary seat in Dedza South constituency, a seat he has occupied to this day. He remains the only politician to have occupied a parliamentary seat for five decades, and it is most likely that he will do so even for more, since he is guaranteed of being a legislator at least until 2014,” added Manda, justifying his claim that JZU has achieved quite a lot and should therefore be satisfied with that.
The history of Malawi holds that Tembo was elected to the legislative assembly of Nyasaland in 1961, three years before we gained our independence. He was the second Minister of Finance after independence, succeeding Henry Phillips, in a post for which the intended candidate had been Dunduzu Chisiza.
He was also the only cabinet member not to resign in the notorious “Cabinet Crisis” of 1964, after which most of the President’s closest lieutenants, their opposition to his policies having thwarted, fled the country. It appears he developed his ‘thick skin’ many decades ago. This should, really, be peculiar of Tembo; he has, with ultimate confidence, treaded with all abandon where others have failed to go. Such is a character that defines him up to date. But is it necessary now?
Some commentators argue that Tembo’s closeness to Dr. Banda was reportedly strengthened by the fact that Banda took his (Tembo’s) niece, Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira, as his mistress and the official First Lady of Malawi. But this might have been just an ‘added advantage’, for many a people who had been so close to Dr. Banda, were not spared the former president’s wrath where he (Dr. Banda) found it necessary to unleash it.
“Tembo remained invincible in the overwhelming powers and authority of the lion of Malawi. He might have constantly done something special; something that maintained or retained a cordial relationship between him and Dr. Banda,” observes Gerald Patani in his research paper titled Why democracy might have come too early for Malawi: a case study of its progress from 1994 to 2009.
As a trusted advisor, Tembo was a force to be reckoned with in Malawi politics for most of Banda’s 30-year tyrannical rule, his power apparently growing as his mentor grew older and frailer. Unpredictably, Banda anointed Tembo’s rival, Gwanda Chakuamba, to be his running mate in Malawi's first multiparty elections. That, still, did not frustrate Tembo. And it appears – at least as of now – there is nothing that can stop him from clinging to ‘power’ if unbearable pressure is not piled on him.
It was the hope of the veteran politician, and many who share his ambitions, that 2009 would finally be the year he would win the keys to State House, after 15 years in opposition. But he did not; yet he keeps on hoping – hoping against hope, as some would observe. But, this is obviously dangerous hope for the future of his party.
Expressing his opinion over Tembo’s potential to rule Malawi, Joseph Jumbe, wrote in The Nation of September last year that Tembo should resign. “Tembo miserably flopped in the may 19 (2009) elections. This, in my opinion, means the MCP president has outlived his usefulness,” said Jumbe.
Nevertheless, Tembo remains unfazed; his eyes are set ahead and, at least, up to now, he has not yet considered quitting politics, let alone the MCP leadership position. And his alleged recent endorsement as MCP’s candidate for 2014 should obviously give him unnecessary courage. For him, there might be little or nothing to lose; but for his party, there is everything to lose.
He appears to harbor constant hope for the future, and this is the hope that has perhaps kept him in his most treasured career for more than half a century. He seems to pride in the maxim which says a calm sea does not make a skillful sailor. He has walked in the shadow of the valley of total collapse, yet he remains what he is; or what he strives to be. Thus, it makes sense to point out that since he has achieved quite a lot, he should let others take over the leadership of the party.
During the last general elections, as presidential candidate for the MCP, he might have banked all his hope on his long experience in government during the MCP's uninterrupted 30 years where he held numerous leadership positions, and on his stronghold – the Central Region, together with the so-called marriage of convenience – to make it to the State House, but luck did not smile at him. It is amidst such kinds of failure where hope needs to thrive best. Where there is no other alternative than to hope, hope needs to flourish most. But in Tembo’s case, there are numerous alternatives: he can either hand over the party’s top most seat to someone else and help in rebuilding the party, or just step down altogether, and, of course, retire from politics.
Those who have at one point followed his political career with keen interest understand that he is not just any politician, but a tough one. He was Dr Banda’s right-hand man during all the three decades he was at the helm, and, maybe, learnt from Banda how stubbornness matters in politics, for there have been numerous calls from the public that he should resign, but he continues defying the calls.
“This was an opportunity for him to remake his cloudy history. In fact, he should have retired long ago,” commented one participant in an online debate on whether or not Tembo has a future in Malawi’s politics.
After being appointed Finance Minister in 1966, he later became the longest-serving central bank chief after being governor for the Reserve Bank of Malawi for a record 13 years, yet he had no previous experience in money matters. It is possible that he made a lot of economic blunders during the period, but his loyalty to Dr. Banda might have no other way of being reciprocated than that he should maintain his position. He also chaired many private and public institutions, including Malawi's then largest conglomerate, Press Corporation Limited, as well as Blantyre Print and Packaging; the University of Malawi, the New Building Society and several banks; all because he was a politician who knew just how to play his cards, but which it appears he no longer knows how to play, for if he did, he would know that time for him to step down has already arrived.
Those good old days, he was a politician who read the situation now and then and worked out the possible solutions within the possible time. Positions that required economic expertise or managerial skills were given to him – even if he had no expertise or experience in the fields – perhaps because of loyalty. Loyalty paid him dividends. And it continued doing so.
During the 1990s, he became the all-powerful Treasurer General of the MCP. He later became Minister of State in the president’s office during the twilight of the MCP’s power when exiled Malawian politicians started agitating for political change around 1992, together with the Catholic Bishops, including the donour community, who were mostly concerned with the abuse of human rights under Dr. Banda’s rule. This should have been a period that troubled Tembo beyond measure, because it was clear that his powers – which were bestowed on him by Dr. Banda – were undergoing a test.
But it appears afterwards he had hope, still, in Dr. Banda. The 1993 extensive cabinet reshuffle, which Dr. Banda carried out, saw the assuming of interim power by a three-member presidential council which Tembo, being a senior MCP official, was part of. The throne was so close to Tembo, yet so far. In fact, it has always been; perhaps that is why he feels he is destined for it. Maybe that is why he has developed a ‘thick skin’ towards all sorts of criticism and critiquing. But for the sake of history, and of course, for his own sake, it would be wise for him to quit politics and be our next statesman, for he will never be one if he continues going against the wishes of the populace.
“Even if the party endorses him, his wisdom should see beyond that and analyze the situation at the grassroots. People who endorsed him might just be afraid of him, or don’t want anyone other than Tembo to be mightier in the party. Sometimes when many people are vying for one position, it is usually the case that they all desire to lose it by giving it to someone else,” observes Moses Mwase, a fourth year Philosophy student at Chancellor College.
Recently, it appeared power wrangles in the once mighty MCP took another twist such that the party seemed to be on the verge of very dangerous divisions. But still, the last thing to do was to endorse Tembo. There is need, many commentators argue, for Tembo to step aside and allow young blood to take over the leadership position of the party. But history might rightly prove that Tembo might not be ready to step aside now; for it is not in his mind now – unless his spirit of holding tight to his decisions has waned. Perhaps, only genuine cries from many MCP supporters that someone else should be at the helm of the party, will be the ultimate thing to bring Tembo to reason. Yet, as is the case in Malawi politics, the voice of the majority at the grassroots is seldom considered.
The MCP constitution bars Tembo to seek re-election after failing twice and when asked about that recently, he said: “That position is between me and my party, the Malawi Congress Party and the people who make a decision at the convention.” And the endorsement should have automatically given him untold hope. That is a dangerous thing for the party that might see him influence the change of the party’s constitution so that he may stand in 2014 without any hurdle.
But, there are some things which require us to give in like old age. This is the most challenging thing as far as Tembo’s political future is concerned. He may soon be heading towards the exit door; and this will be a very welcome achievement for himself and his admirers. He may not rule Malawi, but the years he has been in politics probably equal a rule itself. Above everything, he is the longest-serving politician in Malawi and he has achieved beyond many can imagine: he held myriad challenging positions and that should obviously bring him pride, otherwise, now it may no longer be wise to hope against hope, for all hope is fast fading into oblivion, in spite of the funny endorsement that was recently bestowed on him.
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