Widespread hunger, poverty, political intolerance, crime, and human rights abuses are a major threat to democracy in Malawi, according to a report issued on Friday by the country’s human rights commission.
The impoverished southern African nation has been rife with corruption scandals and accusations that President Bakili Muluzi was working to suppress criticism and undermine opposition parties.
The new report, by the quasi-independent Malawi Human Rights Commission, said that political bullying was undermining the nation’s fledgling democracy.
”The challenges facing our young democracy are formidable,” read the report. ”Malawians live in abject poverty and hunger. Democracy is incompatible with poverty, hunger, violence, and intolerance of
any form.”
According to the report, state institutions that investigate corruption and human rights abuses were vastly underfunded.
The report also accuses Muluzi, his Cabinet and Parliament of interfering with the judiciary. It cites incidents in which judges were intimidated and their rulings disregarded by the president and Parliament.
Journalists and newspapers also were harassed for criticising the government, the report said.
The government has dismissed the commission’s findings, describing them as allegations that lack substance. ”This is purely speculation,” an Information Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
The report was based on input from state officials, civil society organisations and government departments. – Sapa-AP