AFRICA/MALAWI - Popular national singer caught in political crisis

Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides)- The political crisis in Malawi has hit even one of the country’s most popular singers Lucius Banda, now an Oppostion MP. “It was meant to be a joke he could have taken an English language test instead of producing a false school certificate” Fides was told by Italian Monfort Missionary Fr Piergiorgio Gamba with regard to Lucius Banda given a prison sentence of 27 months for lying and producing a false school certificate.
MP Banda was given 21 months for being in possession of a false school certificate and 6 months for lying to the chancellor who asked if the certificate was authentic.
“Banda did not expect this situation. Recently in similar cases the court imposed a fine. He would have paid the fine and carried on as a popular singer who has just published a new album "Survivors"... He knew he would lose the title and seat as MP but was not particularly worried seeing the difficult situation of Malawi’s politics. He would have resumed his singing and invented a stable future” the missionary said.
“He grew up at Balaka Catholic mission, he went to St Charles Lwanga School and Mangochi seminary. He joined the Alleluya Band as a singer and later left to make his own way” says Fr Gamba. “The ruling was political. He, the newest MP, was used by the UDF, the party of Bakili Muluzi, the leader of the opposition for a face to face attack on the presidency with a motion of impeachment for the President. And today this has landed him in prison” the missionary said,
But 21 months in prison in Malawi are an eternity. He can appeal. He may have the sentence reduced but it is unlikely that he will be released even with pardon from the president which will be a long time coming, if it comes at all. The presidency is in trouble at the moment and aggressive attitude towards to Opposition could have a boomerang effect. The Lamp newspaper said the situation is like the Lottery game recently introduced in Malawi. Politics is playing the same game collecting numbers of personalities previously close to the presidency and then sacked” the mission concludes. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 8/9/2006 righe 33 parole 421)