Two sample clips for the October 1967 Mwanza ‘war’ video documentary have been released by Film Lab which is in charge of producing this video documentary in collaboration with a team of researchers.
The two video clips (below), essentially depict how positively the key informants have welcomed this video documentary project and the heartfelt gratefulness the key informants are expressing to all Malawians of good will who have so far supported this initiative in cash or kind as part of documenting our history.
The ‘war’ broke out in October 1967 in Malawi’s Southern district of Mwanza (about 300 km from capital city of Lilongwe) between Malawi’ security forces on one front and an armed group of 17 under the umbrella of Ufulu Umodzi Malawi Party (UUMA) led by Malawi’s former Home Affairs Minister Yatuta Chisiza on the opposite front.
It was during this ‘war’ that Yatuta Chisiza and his lieutenant Lutengano Mwahimba were shot dead while 5 of their compatriots escaped successfully to Zambia as one committed suicide when 9 had been captured alive, later tried at the high and supreme courts in Blantyre, hanged (except one among them who became a state witness) and finally buried in unmarked graves in Zomba in 1969.
Throughout Dr. Banda regime and up to now, the accounts of the October 1967 Mwanza ‘war’ have been discussed with a bias towards the official narrative given by the one party state of Dr. Banda.
This video documentary is therefore an attempt to give the most accurate narration of this ‘war’ and illustrate its significance to the history of Malawi particularly the struggle for democracy and human rights.
The main character in this video documentary is Mr. Frank Jiya the only surviving combatant among the 17 ‘rebel’ fighters who invaded the country to wage the war against Malawi’s security forces 51 years ago.
Those who would like to be part of this history in the making by supporting this project as it comes to the end soon, can contact the producer and spokesperson for the project Paliani Chinguwo: p.chinguwo@historyofmalawi.com or whatsapp: +26774526943.
For more about Mwanza ‘war’, please visit these links (below):
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