Death of a Homophobic President: Bingu wa Mutharika aka Bingallista (Saturday, February 24, 1934 – Thursday, April 5, 2012)

Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, president of Malawi, died yesterday of cardiac
arrest at Kamuzu Central Hospital, in the capital city of Lilongwe.
When he married the much younger former Tourism Minister Callista
Chimombo in 2010 after a 3-year widowhood, Malawian tabloids and
sycophants nicknamed the couple, the "Bingallista"--no doubt taking
their cue from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, aptly called the
Brangelina..
Mutharika's body was promptly flown to South Africa. The Malawian
daily Nyasa Times speculated that moving Mutharika's remains to South
Africa would allow the late "President's kitchen cabinet [to] continue
its aggressive ploy aimed at holding on to power at all cost."
It's rumored that this "kitchen cabinet" is cooking up some
unwholesome stuff: to override the constitution and appoint the
deceased president's brother, Foreign Minister Peter Mutharika, as new
head of state.
Never mind the Constitution, which, in its Section 83(4), states that
"Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of President, the First
Vice-President shall assume that office for the remainder of the term
and shall appoint another person to serve as First Vice-President for
the remainder of the term."
Well, Vice-President Joyce Banda had a nasty political row with the
deceased president in 2010 and has not spoken to the man for over a
year. And since this falling-out, it's the Foreign Minister who's been
standing in for his brother at official ceremonies.
It's also reported that the "kitchen's cabinet" has compelled Speaker
of Parliament Henry Chimunthu Banda to convene parliament next Tuesday
where a motion to change the constitution will be tabled.
Nyasa Times again: "Mutharika appeared to have been grooming his
Foreign Minister brother Peter as his successor."
Well, what could possibly be expected from a Banana Republic?
A BBC profile of Mutharika posted today asserts that his critics
charged that he "has not so much run the country as run the country
into the ground."
Pity on the good people of Malawi! With the looming constitutional
crisis, Malawians won't descend in the streets to rejoice by chanting:
"Good riddance!"
In April and May 2010, I posted on this blog 2 virulent rants against
Mutharika and the Malawian judiciary following the arbitrary arrest,
kangaroo trial, and conviction of Steven Monjenza, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga
on antiquated charges of "buggery."
Commenting on homosexuality before the trial of the two persecuted
young men, Mutharika said:
"Homosexuality is a strange act in the country... Malawians are even
aping cultures they do not understand. They are saying a man should
marry a fellow man. This is evil and bad before the eyes of God. There
are certain things we Malawians just do not do."
Let's hope that now that Muthakira has been untimely thrown into
His/Her/Its Presence, he'd come to realize that "buggery" isn't a sin
after all...