Abstract

When Malawi had re-adopted democracy in 1994, there was great optimism regarding the fair and free conduct of elections that would reflects the wishes of the citizenry. However, what transpired afterwards was something very different. In almost all elections conducted, the country’s political system has been confronted with incidents of political violence being perpetrated by the youth hence the study which was to examine political violence mitigation initiatives among the youths in Malawi with a case of Mzuzu where more youth violence were recorded the post 2019 election. In Mzuzu, government infrastructure and individual property were extensively damaged by the youth. Through a sample size of thirty-five respondents with a qualitative approach that involved in-depth interviews, data was analysed using content analysis. The results revealed serious implications of political violence including but not limited to economic slowdown, death, injuries, vandalism and slowdown of democracy consolidation. On mitigation initiatives, the study revealed economic empowerment, civic education, avoidance of political interference in law enforcement and use of social media for political mobilisation and campaigning. For effectiveness, the initiatives would require commitments from the government, Non- Governmental Organizations and local leaders. The research was guided by rational choice institutionalism theory which dictates that political actors use institutions to maximize their preferences. The study recommends that politicians to embrace tolerance and desist from inciting political violence against their opponents; not to interfere with the justice system on perpetrators of political violence; ensure effective implementation of the laws against issuing of handouts by political players especially the government to economically empowering the youth financially and become self-reliant; there should be enhanced security for streets and shops including installation of security cameras and introduction of insurance cover for loss of property due to protests.

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School	: School of Law, Economics and Government
Issued Date	: 2025

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