By Durell Namasani
President Lazarus Chakwera’s love for Arsenal has apparently backfired on Malawian football fans, after police in Lilongwe cancelled a planned victory parade for the Premier League champions over fears the self-confessed Gooner would show up and steal the spotlight. The Arsenal Fans Malawi Chapter had scheduled the celebration for May 30, but the Malawi Police Service denied security clearance, citing “operational commitments” ahead of an upcoming regional police meeting. However, sources close to the matter have revealed a very different reason: intelligence reports suggested that Chakwera, who has never hidden his support for the North London club, intended to join the parade unannounced. That prospect, according to insiders, terrified the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which critics say still treats the police as its own “uniformed political wing.”
The DPP’s fear was not about football but about politics. Had Chakwera appeared among cheering Arsenal fans, the authorities believed he would have been welcomed with spontaneous chants and political hype – a public relations coup the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) could have used to its advantage. At a time when Malawi is entering its second month without diesel in filling stations, with long queues and rising anger over fuel shortages, the DPP was desperate to deny the President any platform for popular goodwill. “They feared the parade would turn into an unofficial campaign rally,” one source said. “A joyful football moment would have given Chakwera exactly the kind of positive image the opposition wants to block.”
The official police statement, which mentioned security concerns and preparations for the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation (SARPCCO) meetings scheduled for June 9-12, has been met with widespread disbelief. The parade date – May 30 – falls more than a week before those meetings begin, and Arsenal fans have pointed out that the police have previously handled much larger public events without such last-minute cancellations. “They just didn’t want the President to have a good day,” lamented one disappointed supporter. The Arsenal Fans Malawi Chapter confirmed they have “no choice but to comply” and are now unsure what to do with the funds fans had already raised for the event.
Observers say the cancellation is a stark reminder of how deep political paranoia runs in Malawi. “Everything is judged from the point of politics. That’s how backward we are,” one football fan commented bitterly. While Arsenal supporters in Blantyre are still hoping to hold their own parade without incident, the Lilongwe cancellation has left a sour taste. For President Chakwera, being an Arsenal fan has suddenly become a liability – not because his team won, but because his own country’s political rivals are too scared to let him celebrate.
