US embassy cable - 05LILONGWE452

C O N F I D E N T I A L LILONGWE 000452 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF/S, INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, MI, Political, President 
SUBJECT: FAMILY AND FRIENDS: NEPOTISM IN THE MUTHARIKA 
GOVERNMENT 
 
 
Classified By: CDA David Gilmour for reasons 1.5 b and d 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY.  President Mutharika has placed relatives in 
key government positions as he struggles to build a political 
base for himself and his party.  The president's cousin is 
serving as head of the Public Service, and two adult 
daughters have been appointed to positions in State House. 
Mutharika is also believed to have appointed the head and the 
deputy head of the police because they come from his home 
district.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (C) Following a longstanding tradition in Malawian 
politics, President Mutharika has appointed close relatives 
to important government positions.  The most prominent 
appointment to date is that of his cousin, Charles Matabwa, 
who was named to a newly created position as head of the 
country's civil service.  Mutharika inherited a relative of 
his predecessor Bakili Muluzi in the position of Secretary to 
the President and Cabinet (SPC), the administrative head of 
the President's office and the entire Civil Service.  Rather 
than dismissing the incumbent-- a skilled administrator with 
many powerful friends-- Mutharika decided to split the office 
of SPC into two, creating a Chief Secretary for the President 
and Cabinet and a Chief Secretary for the Public Service.  He 
kept Muluzi's relative in the former position and appointed 
Matabwa to the latter.  Matabwa, a mediocre administrator, is 
not respected for his leadership qualities, but his close 
personal relationship to the president enables him to wield 
enormous 
 power, particularly in hiring and firing senior civil 
servants. 
 
3. (C) Mutharika's two adult daughters are serving in 
positions inside State House.  One is working as his personal 
assistant, and the other as a special assistant to the First 
Lady, as executive director of the Ethel Mutharika 
Foundation, which works to increase women's economic 
empowerment.  The Foundation also serves as a political 
mobilization organization for the president and his party. 
 
4. (C) Mutharika is believed to have appointed the Inspector 
General (IG) and the deputy IG of the police because they 
come from his home district of Thyolo in Southern Malawi.  IG 
Mary Nangwale is the widow of a policeman from Thyolo. 
Nangwale's deputy, Often Thyolani, is also from Thyolo.  When 
Parliament recently rejected Nangwale's appointment earlier 
this year, Mutharika responded by quickly appointing Thyolani 
acting head of the police. 
 
5. (C) Comment: Nepotism has a long tradition in Malawian 
politics, and these family appointments follow a pattern 
established by both of Mutharika's predecessors.  Former 
President Muluzi's wife, for example, also had a foundation 
that in practice acted as an arm of the United Democratic 
Front political party.  However, Mutharika appears to be 
employing the practice because he does not fully trust his 
subordinates.  Family members have remarked to Embassy 
officers that the president is troubled by infighting in his 
cabinet and is unsure which of his ministers can be fully 
trusted.  In the complex and treacherous world of Malawian 
politics, Mutharika cannot be too careful in deciding where 
he decides to place his confidence.  Considering Mutharika's 
very thin base of political allies, perhaps the surprise is 
that he has not resorted more heavily to nepotism. 
GILMOUR