Peter Mutharika's Unexpected Political Resurgence in Malawi

Just five years after being dramatically unseated by a court ruling, Peter Mutharika is set to return to power as the president of Malawi.

Mutharika, who held the top job from 2014 to 2020, seems to have triumphed in last week's general election, usurping his long-time rival, President Lazarus Chakwera.

Mutharika told voters on the campaign trail that life was simply better under him - Malawi has experienced one of its worst ever economic downturns since Chakwera took office.

But the record of 85-year-old Mutharika has its own blemishes, from corruption allegations to the debacle that ended his first presidency.

This is the fourth time he has run for office, but initially, Mutharika did not intend to go into politics.

Born in 1940 in the tea-growing region of Thyolo, he was raised by two teachers and developed a love for education.

I grew up in a family where my parents were educators, and myself I spent all my life in higher education, at seven universities on three continents, Mutharika commented in 2017, during an address at the UK's Oxford University.

He attended Dedza Secondary School, an institution in central Malawi known for nurturing notable politicians, and studied law in the 1960s at the prestigious Yale University in the US.

Mutharika went on to become a professor, building an expertise in international justice. He spent decades away from Malawi teaching at universities in the US, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia.

Mutharika eventually pivoted to politics in 2004, when his older brother, Bingu, became Malawi's president.

Mutharika returned home to serve as an adviser to the new president and in 2009, he was elected as an MP for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

He served in his brother's cabinet as justice minister, education minister and then foreign minister.

Mutharika scaled the heights of power relatively peacefully, but tensions emerged in 2010, amid reports that Bingu planned to name his brother as the DPP's presidential candidate for the 2014 elections.

But the succession plans were abruptly interrupted in April 2012.

At the age of 78, the president suffered a cardiac arrest, and died. Mutharika paid a glowing tribute to the late leader at his funeral, describing him as my brother, my friend and also my hero.

With the presidency vacant, a power struggle ensued. Malawi's constitution stipulated that if the head of state dies in office, the vice-president takes over, but Bingu had fallen out with his vice-president, Joyce Banda, over the controversial plans to install his brother.

The DPP had expelled Banda, who subsequently formed a new party, the People's Party (PP), but refused to step down as vice-president.

When the president died, his supporters tried to install Mutharika as leader in defiance of the constitution, but ultimately Banda prevailed and became Malawi's first female president.

Mutharika was charged with treason after being accused of being part of a plot to hide his brother's death to give him time to manoeuvre to keep Banda out of the presidency.

He dismissed the charges as frivolous and politically motivated - and they were dropped after he was elected president in 2014, defeating Banda and Chakwera with just over 36% of the vote.

Although Mutharika branded the re-run unacceptable, the Constitutional Court gained international acclaim for safeguarding democracy and refusing to be influenced by presidential power.

He suggested he would not run for office again, but surprised many by entering this year's presidential race, saying his supporters wanted him to save the country from Chakwera.

Since Mutharika left office, inflation has soared past 30%. Cyclone Freddy, a punishing drought, dwindling foreign reserves and other factors have pushed many Malawians into extreme poverty.

During campaign speeches this year, Mutharika asked the public in the local Chichewa language: Munandisowa eti? Mwakhaula eti? (You miss me right? You have suffered, right?).

Regardless, voters have put their trust in him. He even triumphed in areas known to be Chakwera strongholds, such as the capital, Lilongwe, and Nkhotakota.

Many Malawians have indeed suffered, as Mutharika noted in his campaign speeches. So once the dust from his unlikely comeback settles, the nation will be watching, keenly, to see if he makes good on his pledge to take them back to better times.