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Malawi's Former President Welcomes Biden Administration, Criticizes Rival

Anita Powell

   JOHANNESBURG - Peter Mutharika is certain he won reelection last June,
   in a poll which he insists was rigged and which triggered violent
   protests.

   But instead of pursuing his case through the courts, he invited the new
   president and his wife over for a chat and some coffee.

   Landlocked Malawi is Southern Africa's poorest nation, and was rocked
   by political protests over the June poll, which was a redo of a
   February poll that courts invalidated. But after months of protests and
   challenges, Mutharika folded and says he'll never run for office again.

   "I thought we needed peace in this country after 11 months of
   violence," Mutharika said. "So that's what happened, and I think my
   people are so glad, that they acted responsibly and accepted that we
   should go on, let them take the government and let Malawi go on in
   peace."

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