CHAKWERA OWES MALAWIANS “I’M SORRY, I FAILED YOU”
Former President Lazarus Chakwera owes Malawians a public, unambiguous apology. Not tomorrow. Not wrapped in scripture. Not diluted by excuses. Now.
The looting that allegedly took place under his administration, at Greenbelt, NOCMA, and the East Bank–West Bank (East Bridge) project, was not minor, accidental, or isolated. It was massive, systematic, and shameless, involving billions of kwacha while ordinary Malawians sank deeper into poverty. This was not governance; it was national betrayal.
And what did Malawians get from the man who promised to “clear the rubble”? Silence. Cold, arrogant silence.
Dr. Chakwera rose to power on a moral pedestal. He sold himself as a pastor-president, a man of God who would cleanse the state of corruption. Malawians trusted him, not just politically, but morally. That trust was abused. Under his watch, corruption did not retreat; it thrived.
Let us be clear: whether courts eventually convict individuals is irrelevant to this demand. Chakwera was the Head of State and Government. He appointed ministers. He presided over institutions. He enjoyed power, privilege, and praise. He cannot now pretend to be a helpless bystander to the rot that defined his tenure.
When scandals exploded, he did not stand before the nation to accept responsibility. He did not show empathy to citizens who watched their future being looted. He did not act with the urgency of a leader who cared. Instead, he appeared detached, shielded by State House walls, more concerned with personal comfort and legacy than national accountability.
That is failure. Total failure.
An apology is not a favour to Malawians. It is a debt. It is the minimum moral requirement for a leader whose administration presided over unprecedented allegations of theft and institutional collapse. Refusing to apologize only confirms what many already believe: that he feels no remorse and no shame.
History is unforgiving to leaders who hide behind silence. Without an apology, Lazarus Chakwera’s legacy will be sealed not as a former president, but as a president under whom Malawi effectively had no leadership, only sermons and slogans while the country was stripped bare.
Malawians are not asking for miracles. They are asking for honesty.
Dr. Chakwera must look Malawians in the eye and say: I failed you. I am sorry.
Anything less is cowardice. Anything less is contempt for the people he once swore to serve.