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Malawi is as lawless as a country can be defined. People commit crimes on camera, in front of people and “the law” looks the other way. The courts rule in favour of fat pockets. It’s a banana republic!

Mukhito should just have shut the hell up. No one wants to hear from him but from the President!

As regards COSOMA, the fact that there is always outrage when disbursement time comes and then silence afterwards tells you everything about the Malawian mindset: reactionary and, as Muluzi once said, “Sitichedwa kuiwala.” This is an issue that I, artists I have managed, still manage, and many other artists I have worked with have tried to look into over the years. We all came to the same conclusion: COSOMA does not have a clear system or criteria for determining which artist gets what. It is guesswork. That is exactly why they cannot publicly explain how each artist's allocation was arrived at. Unfortunately, every year, while some artists complain, others celebrate. It is a classic case of divide and rule. In one particular year, an artist I worked with received pennies. The artist publicly complained and the issue trended. The following year, that same artist received perhaps ten times more than before. Ridiculous, right? Well, the artist stopped complaining. COSOMA's strategy of, “Ameneyu tiyeni timpatse zambiri asayankhulenso,” had worked. And that is exactly what they do. Like most parastatals and government institutions, COSOMA is run under the government of the day, often with very little professionalism or accountability. Consequently, when governments change, so do those running these institutions. Artists who were favoured a few years ago may no longer be favoured today. That is why some artists are silent today while others are celebrating their COSOMA payouts. Tomorrow, those celebrating may be the ones complaining. I have seen this script play out several times. Pay attention to who is crying the loudest today. Next time, they may receive a share they never expected and suddenly fall silent. My point is simple: if we truly want to fix this system, all artists, big and small, whether they received the lion's share or almost nothing, must come together with one voice. They must hold COSOMA accountable, demand transparency, and insist on a clear, verifiable system that works fairly for everyone. Otherwise how do some artists even celebrate when clearly they are not even sure they are getting what they deserve. It’s like baddies who sleep around to get a latest iPhone and yet they publicly thank God for it.! Ultimately, this is the mindset we need across all public institutions in this country. What you see in COSOMA is simply a reflection of the broader governance problem in Malawi. We have a duty to fix it, and that effort can start with COSOMA!