Feature
By Frazer Potani, Lilongwe, Malawi

Can anyone handcuff God’s mighty, divine arms restraining Him from turning a heavenly tap of rain from watering farm produce on earth?

Yes! God is omnipotent elsewhere but not in Malawi where some people believe fellow human beings have magic powers to prevent the Creator from opening heavenly gates of rainfall through locking rain.

In fact Maria Keyala from Kwanjana Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Bvumbwe in Thyolo is a victim of such beliefs. She even lost her home!

An angry mob descended upon Keyala’s hut pulling it down brick by brick on allegations that she was responsible for the dry spell that had scorched maize in the fields in her area!

“The suspects wanted to enter Keyala’s house when she was not around to find a pot which they alleged she was using to lock the rains,” said Southern Region Police Spokesperson Davie Chingwalu.

Thyolo, about 50 Km from Blantyre City has been experiencing a prolonged dry spell over the past weeks.

Similarly, just close to Thyolo in Kombola Village, Chief Mkanda’s Area in Mulanje, 54-year-old Margaret Misomali lies still 7 feet below the earth surface.

She hanged herself on January 9 this year in the bush just few meters away from her hut. Reason: Her local Village Headman also summoned her on allegations that she was responsible for the drought in her area.

Phalombe Police Spokesperson Augustus Nkhwazi said Misomali and others denied the allegations.

“But the village headman warned them that if it did not rain for the following two days, the group would be summoned again,” said Nkhwazi.

He added that two days passed without rains and it is believed Misomali committed suicide for fear of being summoned again although the chief did not specify the action he was going to take against her and the others.

“The post mortem showed that she [Misomali] died of strangulation,” said Nkhwazi.

Like Misomali, 39-year-old Amos Golosi, from Thanganyika Village, T/A Kuntaja in Blantyre was also discovered hanging in a tree after he was also summoned by his local chief and interrogated on allegations of locking rains.

Police in Thyolo also arrested two people allegedly for mobilizing others against 69-year-old Florence Mwinjiro on accusations that she was keeping the rain in her house.

“They also stoned the woman and after that denied her access to water from the borehole, telling her to use the water in her house,” said Thyolo’s Spokeswoman Edith Msesa.

Police also arrested Village Headman Kaliati and three others and threw them in a Chichiri Prison cell in Blantyre on suspicion over the murder of Lyson Samuel,65, also allegedly accused of being responsible for the dry spell in the village under T/A Kunthembwe.

All the above incidents prove one point: that when people right at grass root level are ignorant of climate change’s causes and effects they do not accept it and can associate it with anything including witchcraft!

Fancy, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that poor agricultural land uses that degrade the environment in agricultural depended countries such as Malawi are fueling climate change, resources depletion, soil fertility reduction and exacerbating food crisis, threatening economies, people in such societies where illiteracy levels are also high and superstitions reign supreme on the expense of their cultural beliefs, scientific facts do not have any room in their world view.

When government therefore, tells such people that unless they refrain from acts of environmental degradation such as deforestation, water, air and land pollution to preserve the environment their country will continue experiencing climate change that will result into disasters such as floods and droughts negatively to affect their agricultural food production in their fields, they do not take such issues seriously.

Furthermore, even when the Ministry of Agriculture uses figures that 20 million tonnes of soil that would have otherwise, been used for agricultural production in their country is washed away annually due to acts of environmental degradation such as deforestation, shifting cultivation they will hardly believe it.

How can the people take such government’s calls on the need to preserve the environment seriously when they have beliefs like ‘no one own trees but God’ hence taking wanton cutting down of trees as normal?

It is therefore, not surprising that Malawi’s oldest Non Governmental Organization (NGO), the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) repeatedly says the country will continue experiencing floods and dry spells due to climate change as long as environmental degradation remains practiced by Malawians.

“Activities causing climate change in Malawi are poor land husbandry (land preparation, burning of crop residues and weeds during land preparation),” said WESM Executive Director Daulos Maumbeta adding that burning of residues releases carbon dioxide and drains the soil of nutrients for crop growth.

“Tobacco curing is also contributing to climate change because it uses massive firewood which releases gasses into the atmosphere and clears carbon sinks (forests),” said Maumbeta adding that Malawi’s rampant charcoal production is also contributing to climate change.

“Charcoal is also releasing carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Burning of tyres and other related plastics is also doing the same just as sweeping surroundings and burning the residues,” said Maumbeta adding that large scale livestock farming is also a threat to environment.

“Exposed cow dung produces methane into the atmosphere. Smoke being released from old vehicles is also threatening our environment,” said Maumbeta adding that pollution from Malawi’s factories are also causing climate change.

He further said use of Chloro Fluoro Carbon (CFC) refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosol repellents, sprayers, carbon footprints through air travel are also contributing to climate change.

The World Bank warns that climate change will negatively affect social-economic development and poverty eradication in poor developing countries such as Malawi.

“Climate change has negative consequences for low lying coastal regions and developing countries such as Malawi as they are the most susceptible to extreme weather events that result in economic instability and loss of livelihood,” says the bank adding that experiences linked to climate change include more storms, floods, pronounced desertification and droughts.

“Harmful impacts of climate change also include economic losses to sectors such as agriculture, water and fishing,” says the bank.

Acting Director of Environmental Affairs Aloysius Kamperewera said many Malawians continue to degrade the country’s environment because they are ignorant of its negative impacts on their lives.

“People need to be told what climate change is all about and the negative impact it is already bringing in our society. Climate change is a general description of the average temperature and rainfall conditions of an area over time,” said Kamperewera.

He said weather changes due to climate change have already seen Malawi’s Lower Shire area experiencing floods during rainy season that have damaged roads and property.

“In some seasons instead of floods droughts have been experienced,” he said.

Environmental Science Head at Polytechnic in Blantyre [University of Malawi (Unima)] Ishmael Kosamu said there is need for all stakeholders in all sectors to join hands and play their role in climate change.

“Climate change is complex subject. But if we can all join hands and take a role in the fight against it we will make a difference. We don’t have to sit idle because climate change is a challenge that will even affect generations to come,” said Kosamu.

Information and Civic Education Minister Leckford Thotho Mwanza admitted that many Malawians at grass root level are ignorant of climate change.

“We need to civic educate people to understand all issues to do with climate change,” he said.

Senior Chief Kaomba from Kasungu, 120 Km away from Lilongwe in central region of Malawi said it is wrong associating dry spell with witchcraft instead of climate change.

“I know sometimes it’s because some people go public boasting that they can stop rains and such claims raise anger among people if indeed there is a dry spell,” said Kaomba.

However, the chief was quick to say that there is no need to believe people making claims that they have magic to prevent rainfall.

“There is no scientific evidence that a person can stop rains,” said Kaomba.

Senior Chief Tengani from Nsanje in the southern region of Malawi also said his area is overwhelmed by claims by people blaming others of having powers to lock rains.

“But Malawians should never believe such claims, instead, turn to the Almighty God for help and not even blame others for dry spells,” he said.

International Traditional Medicine Council of Malawi (ITMCM) Vice-General Secretary Robins Zaniku said there is no way a human being can using magic lock rains.

“Traditional leaders should not punish people based on such allegations without consulting us. What Malawi is experiencing now is as a result of environmental degradation because people have cut trees to bake charcoal for timber and no person is responsible for the drought, that is impossible,” said Zaniku.

Jos Kuppens an Executive Director for Center for Social Concern (CFSC) at Kanengo in Lilongwe, said the rate at which environmental degradation is taking place and fueling climate change in Malawi needs treatment of an emergency otherwise the situation will go out of hand.

Over two years have gone since President Bingu wa Mutharika on February 11, 2007 launched a National Adaptation Plan of Action ( NAPA ) at Capital Hotel Marque in Lilongwe to sensitize Malawians on causes and effects of environmental degradation and climate change.

It is however, clear that many Malawians are still ignorant about climate change. No wonder others are linking its effects such as dry spells to acts of witchcraft by fellow human beings.

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