Dulani, University of Malawi researchers target for vicious attack after survey which irked President

A political and social commentator Boniface Dulani of the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College and his colleagues who conducted a survey that revealed that Malawians trust the clergy and traditional leaders more than they trust politicians at various levels, including the President, are being targeted for vicious attack from the regime after President Peter Mutharika rubbished their findings.

The Paradox of Traditional Leadership in Democratic Malawi Survey was conducted by Boniface Dulani (PhD), Happy Kayuni (PhD), Michael Chasukwa and Gift Sambo. It was a third a series of surveys sponsored by the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development.

It showed that the President is least trusted at 41 percent while the clergy lead trust ratings at 83 percent followed by chiefs at 76 percent and non-governmental organisation leaders at 65 percent.

According to the survey, ward councillors, at 48 percent trust rating, are the most trusted among politicians. They are followed by members of Parliament (MPs) at 44 percent while the President is least trusted at 41 percent.

But President Mutharika dismissed the survey as not credible and said the researchers only talked to “flies.”

Since the public condemnation by the President, the academic dons have become the target of vicious attacks by the regime for daring to say that Malawians have little trust in him as their leader.

It has since been reported that Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) stormed the offices of Dulani on Thursday and confiscated documents accusing him for failing to remit pay as you earn taxes and others.

MRA is mostly used as an attack dog to critics of government and institutions that defend democracy.

“A few days after the President accused us of surveying flies, we’ve 7 visitors from @MRA with a warrant saying we’a [Sic] evading taxes,” Dulani tweeted. He also posted a picture on Twitter of a search warrant issued by the Chief Resident Magistrate for the South.

Both MRA Head of Corporate Affairs Steve Kapoloma and media specialist Henry Mchazime were coy to comment on the matter.

Curiously, no government official has put up a credible case to question the research process that generated the uncomfortable findings.

In research analysis, if you can’t question the conception of a study, its methodology, analysis and interpretation, you can’t dismiss the findings.

Dulani survey through Afrobarometer in 2014 was sweet music to the DPP when it president Mutharika would win the elections. Now he has turned into a dubious researcher who conducts questionable surveys to paint DPP black.

Commentators say politicians should learn to embrace reality and the truth as sources of strength and learning.

While  Dulani is being harrased, Indian businessman Chandrashekar More who  was arrested after  MRA  ordered his arrest for not filing a tax return and went back home while on bail is receiving VIP treatment from authorities to save him from brushes of the law.

More faces  tax crimes of about K8 million.

Nyasa Times understands that the Indian High Commission has had meetings with MRA director Felix Tambulasi and Mesy Chalunda the head  of internal matters in the tax body to discuss with the authorites towards closure of the court case that has been lodged against him.

The Indian High Commission opts for withdraw of the case.

The Commission also asked MRA to fix a meeting with More cannot use any Malawian lawyer  for fear that they  are either not competent or compromised, and his India-based lawyer, Neelkanth Aher.

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