Academic Freedom Saga: Where The Trouble Lies Now

The closure of a university college over academic freedom would always seem an impossibility. People expect a university college to be closed on grounds ranging from lack of finances to tragic incidents that have entailed that security is lacking at the college.

But Chancellor College and The Polytechnic, the two main constituent colleges of the University of Malawi (Unima) were closed for close to four months over academic freedom which was deemed to be under threat. Now, these colleges have reopened, yet the lecturers are refusing to teach, a thing which may not make sense to most people.

Where does the trouble lie now? In a memo issued by Chanco Academic Stand Union (Ccasu) acting president, the lecturers are not committed to going back to class because the University Council has failed to meet one outstanding demand: that the ‘fired’ lecturers be ‘reinstated’ and all court cases be withdrawn.

And the question is: why is Council so bent at making sure Dr. Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula, Dr. Garton Kamchedzera, Franz Amin and Dr. Blessings Chinsinga are fired? Is there a very compelling reason that is forcing Council to hold Chanco and Poly students at ransom? Whose agenda is Council pursuing?

In any ordinary situation, humanity adores heroism because it tends to be rare, but in this saga, heroism is being valued because it seems to be everywhere. Kapasula, leading many others, has been pursuing a good cause with an unfazed and unflappable heart. Such is the hero Council and the state president seem to want to unmake.

One may ask: how does the president come in when he assured the lecturers of their academic freedom? The truth is that there was something beyond the assurance.

It takes more than intellect and wisdom to grope into a politician’s mind and deduce the real thing hidden in the deep recesses of his heart; it takes special insight – a thing that is not common among humanity. It is rare for politicians to walk in the realm of honesty. At least, such is the case in Malawi.

When Mutharika ordered the reopening of Chanco and Poly smiles indeed fritted across the faces of many who thought the president’s speech where he guaranteed all university colleges in Malawi academic freedom, marked the end of the impasse.

But, as things stand today, it seems the “actual” reopening of the two colleges is not so imminent. The president indeed guaranteed the lecturers their academic freedom; yet if you spare some time to dig deeper into the speech, you will discover that – like Ccasu President Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula observed – it was wanting in a number of aspects.

For starters, Mutharika showed that he was not utterly convinced that the lecturers were fighting for a legitimate cause. His use of phrases like “false pursuit for heroism” in the speech clearly showed that the president was not satisfied that the lecturers were right in their pursuit.

He further asked that all court injunctions should be withdrawn so that the whole impasse could be resolved in roundtable discussions. The lecturers were not convinced and they did not withdraw the injunctions. And their fears were vindicated only a few days later when Council appealed at the Supreme Court insisting that Kapasula and company should be fired.

This is where it is clear that Council is “contradicting” the president’s request that all court cases be withdrawn. And this is where Kapasula’s fears that the president was not really saying all that in good faith, get vindicated.

By the way, Mutharika is Unima Chancellor and formally holds the top most position in the university hierarchy. This consequently implies that Council can in no way do anything contrary to what the president has said. And the only logical conclusion drawn from these premises is that it is Mutharika who wants to make sure Kapasula and company are fired, and therefore one may say with all conclusiveness that Mutharika is not interested in seeing Chanco and Poly reopened.

If Mutharika honestly had the reopening of Chanco and Poly at heart, perhaps the two colleges would have opened even earlier than 4 July, but it appears the president made that speech simply to give Malawians the illusion that the stand-off was over. He might have it in mind that once he made the speech, criticism would wane, and therefore it would be easy for him to concentrate on something else.

It may not sound awkward to assume that the president told Unima Council to make every effort to ensure Chancellor College and The Polytechnic open on 4 July, and to do everything possible to make sure Kapasula and her three colleagues are fired.

Now the lecturers have vowed not to return to class until their “fired” colleagues are “reinstated”. That is exactly what was required of them. How could they return to class when their colleagues who were simply their mouthpiece have been “fired”? It would mean betraying them. In fact, you do not fire a representative for representing others.

We are all heroes of our own life stories; but it is the extent to which our heroism goes that matters. True heroism is not contained in the urge to outstrip all others, but the willingness to render service to others no matter the situation. That appears to be the character that is there in Kapasula.

In her capacity, the lady has dedicated her life to fighting for a cause worth the sacrifice. She has swept aside her personal interests just to make sure an important aspect in the university does not get trampled beneath inconsiderate desires of those who care less. That is the sole reason why they hate her; therefore, that is where the whole trouble lies.

Mutharika does not like Kapasula, Chinsinga, Kamchedzera and Amin the most. Yet, it appears these are the people he cannot ignore as long as finding a lasting solution to the impasse is concerned.

In Kapasula alone, there is that firm resolve of virtue and reason. You just need to listen to her a little and you will know that her care is not to please humanity without a purpose, but to help work out a future for those she cares about. Others may see her to go beyond the limit, but that is what fighters are deemed to do.

Firing her, Chinsinga, Kamchedzera and Amin shouldn’t even have been thought of in the first place. They are the key players as long as resolving the stand-off is concerned, and what was needed was Council sinking a little lower and displeasing the president a little, and the whole staff-off would have been over now.

It is indeed the nature of human wisdom to come out packaged in sharp ironies which entail more folly. The courts ruled that these four remain employees of Unima and as of now there is nothing that can stop them from executing any action in such capacity. But in their wisdom, authorities at the University Council choose to reject their names because to them, Kapasula and company are not Unima’s employees.

We cannot make ourselves heroes by trying to block others from becoming heroes. Kapasula and her colleagues have made themselves names because of their firm resolve which has seen them fighting on even in the midst of turbulent waters. They are the heroes we now know; the University Council is struggling to frustrate them and unmake their pursuit for justice.

Pride seems to be the character that is now blocking progress. Council authorities seem to believe that “reinstating” Kapasula would mean revering her. But honesty knows that even if Council authorities do not adore her, Malawi does, for in her has been seen that character that lacks in these Council authorities.

The beauty of Kapasula’s soul lies in the radiance that glows when she bears her noble duty as Ccasu acting president with covetable composure. She has high self-trust and self-esteem, and these characters help her become what we have seen. And these are the characters Council hate.  

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Kapasula is made of sterner stuff and such a human being was supposed to be benefited from. Just like Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, second US president, said “if we mean to have heroes, statesmen and philosophers, we should have learned women.” But these are not just any other women, but those who will use their education to know their purpose in the latter-day world.

It makes sense to sense that Council authorities are doing whatever they are doing simply to please the president, but the truth is that they are doing him untold injustice. The Mutharika administration is already in crisis. It has come under fire from different quarters, both domestic and international, and as such, it was prudent to capitalize on every development that would impel Malawians to at least have some trust in it. And finding solutions to the academic freedom saga was going to partly ease pressure on the president.

It does not really paint a good picture of the Mutharika administration to see two main constituent colleges of Unima failing to operate fully, and solutions which are very common failing to be found. That closing a university college entails failure in leadership of a state is slowly becoming a cliché that will be copied by the next observer with purpose. It has turned into a song whose lyrics’ values have been drowned in pride and peculiar authority.

Mutharika’s conscience should surely convict him for forsaking very important issues in this country. The president should not be afraid to make Kapasula and her colleagues heroes; rather he should be afraid of unmaking a hero out of himself. In his capacity as the president, he is like a bird perched on a tall tree for all to see its next move.

Malawians are always monitoring whatever he is doing and it would have been wise for him to involve the greatest level of rationality so that some issues like that of academic freedom can be resolved with all ease. Otherwise, if Council maintains that Kapasula and company are fired, what was the essence of Mutharika guaranteeing academic freedom?

It is clear that now the whole trouble in the saga lies in the president and Council trying to avoid seeing Kapasula and company as victors. Perhaps these two parties feel that if the stand-off gets resolved and Kapasula and her “fired” colleagues remain Unima’s employees, then they will be the victors. Yet, that is the only way: they will remain Unima’s employees because fighting for justice is a crime only in dictatorship states, not in Malawi.