Malawi observe Banda`s death amid row over his philanthropic deeds

Blantyre, Malawi, 11/28 - Seven years ago today (Sunday), the remains of Malawi`s Founding Father Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who ruled with an iron- fist for 30 uninterrupted years, arrived back home.

The no-nonsense dictator had died two days earlier (November 25, 1997) in a clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa, from pneumonia complications at the grand old age of 101.

The government of President Bingu wa Mutharika, who has taken a special interest in the legacy of the late dictator, has organised elaborate ceremonies which will culminate into the inauguration of a mausoleum in honour of the country`s first president on 3 December in the capital, Lilongwe.

But the ceremonies have coincided with fresh controversy surrounding Dr. Banda`s rather odd philanthropy - to the rich.

Civil rights activists in Malawi have stepped up a campaign demanding that a number institutions, especially those in Scotland, who got generous donations from the country`s founding father, must give back the money.

The civil rights leaders argue that it was immoral for institutions in rich Scotland, for instance, to get donations from a poor country like Malawi.

Civil rights activist Collins Magalasi, head of policy for Action Aid Malawi, who is spearheading the campaign in Malawi, says research has shown that the monies Banda donated to institution all over the world runs into millions of dollars.

"The total amount may not be known - at least as of now - because we are everyday uncovering new donations or hand-outs made by Dr. Banda," he says.

"But we are talking of millions of dollars."

Magalasi says research shows Banda had been making donation, especially to his former training institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States, as early as the 1960 when he became president of the new nation of Malawi after "destroying" what he used to call "the stupid federation of Rhodesia" under which the current Zimbabwe was Southern Rhodesia, Zambia as Northern Rhodesia and Malawi as Nyasaland".

In 1979, according to Magalasi, Banda donated 2 million US dollars to Wilberforce University of the United States.

"If you look at this particular donation alone at the same value today we are talking over 12 million US dollars," he observes. Banda, according to Magalasi, also donated towards the 300th anniversary appeal of the Canon Gate Kirk.

Malawian scholar, Prof. Thandika Mkandawire - who is Executive Director of the United Nations Research Institute for Development in Geneva, Switzerland - says in a research papers that Dr. Banda in 1982 donated 350,000 British Pounds to the Scottish Royal College of Surgeons and a further 64,000 British Pounds to the Scottish Lothian Health Board.

The latter donation was described as "the single largest donation" the Board received.

This was after the University of Edinburgh had made a public appeal to raise 1.4 million British Pounds on behalf of institutions under it.

Dr. Banda, who trained as a physician both in the United States and the United Kingdom, was an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh.

Magalasi says Malawian and other civil society activists in Malawi, Europe (especially in Great Britain) and the United States of America are lobbying institutions who received the money to consider giving it back.

He, however, is quick not to accuse the recipient institutions of wrongdoing.

"We believe that the donations were received in good faith but the problem that we have is that it is clear this money did not belong to Dr. Banda, but were public funds for the people of Malawi," he charges.

Magalasi says the civil rights activists are not necessarily looking for monetary refunds but "technical agreements must be worked out", like capacity building for Malawian institutions.

Magalasi and other activists first made the call for the refund of Dr. Banda`s philanthropy in the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh, when President Mutharika led a Malawi delegation of politicians and civil society leaders during a post G8 summit where Malawi was taken as a case study.

But Nicholas Dausi, spokesman for the main opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) - which ruled Malawi under Dr. Banda between 1964 and 1994 - dismissed the demands as "nonsense and un-Malawian," saying Dr. Banda donated the money from his vast business empire.

"This was Dr. Banda`s personal money from his personal resources," he says.

Dausi also said it was against Malawian culture to demand back gifts freely given.

Magalasi, who agreed that this was a "shameful campaign", says somebody has to do it since Malawi is facing myriad problems in health and education sectors while money legitimately belonging to Malawians is benefiting rich societies.

Meanwhile, finishing touches are being done on the 60 million Malawi Kwacha (US$515,000) mausoleum in honour of Dr. Banda.

The state-of-the-art mausoleum will include a library chronicling the life and times of Dr. Banda as well as lecture room where tourists and Malawians will have a guided virtual tour on the life of the late dictator.

The preserved body of Dr. Banda, who died on 25 November 1997, will - however - not be on display because, according to Sports, Youth and Culture minister Jaffalie Mussa, that is against Malawi`s culture