The reported move by the Malawi Police to arrest former President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is not just a legal development. It is a political and national stability test—and one Malawi is dangerously close to failing.
This is not an argument against accountability. No one, former president or not, should be above the law. But law enforcement does not operate in a political vacuum. Context matters. Timing matters. Consequences matter.
Dr. Chakwera is not just a private citizen. He is the former Head of State and the political leader of millions of Malawians aligned to the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Arresting him, especially in a highly charged environment already defined by economic pain, political mistrust, and institutional strain, risks triggering instability that the country is ill-prepared to manage.
Let us be clear-eyed. Malawi is fragile. Food insecurity is rising. The economy is under pressure. Public confidence in institutions is thin. Introducing a dramatic and confrontational arrest of a former president into this mix is not a show of strength—it is a gamble.
History teaches us a simple lesson: when politics turns into a battlefield, everyone loses. Once skirmishes begin—between parties, supporters, institutions, and the streets—governance becomes impossible. A country in “war mode” cannot reform, cannot grow, and cannot heal.
There are also serious concerns about perception. If the process is seen, rightly or wrongly, as selective justice or political retaliation, it will instantly undermine the very anti-corruption fight it claims to advance. Justice must not only be done; it must be seen to be done—calmly, fairly, and without spectacle.
Investigations can continue. Questions can be asked. Files can be built. Courts can be respected. None of this requires the dramatic arrest of a former president at this moment. Statesmanship is knowing when to press forward—and when restraint serves the nation better.
Malawi does not need another crisis. It needs stability, credibility, and focus. Turning a legal process into a political flashpoint will only make the country harder to govern and easier to divide.
The authorities must tread carefully. There are already too many fires burning. Lighting a bigger one will not purify the nation—it may consume it.
