Emerson Sam Navaya

PART ONE By Emerson Sam Navaya I n African societies, people say history is the greatest teacher. Well. For Malawians, the last five years under the MCP-led administration of Dr. Lazarus Chakwera have been nothing short of a living classroom of painful lessons. What Malawians have learnt from modern politicians is always a reminder—an equivalent, perhaps, to what the Israelites endured in Egypt. The memory of those days is still menacing and fresh, etched into the minds of citizens who queued, struggled, and prayed simply to survive. The Forex Nightmare One of the darkest experiences has been the severe shortage of foreign exchange. While government officials could access forex with ease, ordinary Malawians were locked out, forced to watch helplessly as the Malawi Kwacha fell to K6,000 against the U.S. dollar. For families, this was more than just numbers on a financial board. “I watched my husband die without treatment,” said one woman from Blantyre. “We were told the medicine could ...

By Emerson Sam Navaya W here does Malawi miss it? That question has lingered in the minds of many citizens who watch their nation blessed with rivers, lakes, and fertile land, yet still condemned to hunger year after year. It took me just minutes to wonder whether Malawi truly has leaders who care enough to end hunger once and for all—or whether hunger itself has been weaponized to serve politics. Malawi has become a hunger strike nation —a country where food shortages are not an occasional disaster but a predictable cycle. And yet, on the ground, ordinary farmers prove every day that hunger is not inevitable. One such man is Tommy Chimpanzi , an agricultural officer responsible for environmental conservation. On his small piece of land, he produces harvests so abundant they defy the excuses of an entire government. TOMMY CHIMPANZI: A FARMER AGAINST THE ODDS Standing proudly beside rows of green maize, Tommy explains how he beats the odds: “I don’t wait for government subsidies,” he...