Authentic leadership, nepotism, and the 2021 “African of the Year”

On 12 January, the African Leadership Magazine (ALM), a publication based in the United Kingdom (UK), announced Lazarus Chakwera, President of Malawi since June 2020, as the "African of the Year 2021." The poll that determines the recipient of the award, and that forms one procedural element of what the publication describes as Africa's "premium, annual vote-based awards," drew more than 10?000 votes on the magazine's website and more than 5000 votes via email, ostensibly from Africans in the continent and the diaspora. ?

The title "African of the Year" is one among seven titles that the magazine awards annually. Others include "African Political Leader of the Year" and "Africa Peace and Security Leader of the Year." The "10th African Leadership Magazine Persons of the year 2021" nominees were unveiled mid-December 2021. According to the magazine's website, the nominees were decided on submissions made by Africans living in the continent alone.

The criteria for the "African of the Year" award reads as follows: "This recognition is open to an African whose actions have greatly impacted the continent positively in the year under review and helped shape his or her immediate society and continues to inspire globally." Furthermore, the publisher of the magazine and the founder and chairman of the African Leadership Organization, Dr. Ken Giama, described the nominees across the seven award categories in the following manner: "our nominees are trailblazers, trendsetters and unrelenting in their push for a safe and secured future for the continent and her people, especially its youths." In addition to Chakwera, the two other nominees for the "African of the Year" award were Macky Sall, President of Senegal, and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The quality of political leadership in Africa

From an authentic leadership perspective, Chakwera's winning of the award suggests Africa's pool of contemporary political leaders who are perceived to impact the continent positively and inspire at home and abroad is of sub-standard quality. It also suggests that those who nominated and voted for Chakwera either view nepotism as an acceptable democratic leadership practice and therefore have lower expectations of Africa's political leaders or failed to appraise Chakwera's track record as President of Malawi properly.

Sub-standard political leadership and the failure of followers or citizens to embrace appropriate leadership attributes when supporting and electing their leaders, or to properly discern the quality of political leadership, is by no means a uniquely African problem. However, this author is a concerned African, and an African award for leadership prompted this piece. Furthermore, this author refers to political leaders in particular because this is what Chakwera and his two fellow nominees for the award are. In other words, only political leaders were nominated for the award, "African of the Year 2021," despite there being a separate award for "African Political Leader of the Year." ?

The history of the "Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership" supports the argument that quality African political leaders, particularly at the level of head of state and government, are hard to come by in the contemporary era. This prize is awarded to a former executive head of state or government who, amongst other criteria, have "under challenging circumstances … developed their countries and strengthened democracy and human rights for the shared benefit of their people, paving the way for sustainable and equitable prosperity."

In its fourteen-year existence, the Ibrahim Prize has only been awarded six times. In 2017, John Campbell of the Council on Foreign Relations wrote, "For some observers, the inability of the [Ibrahim Prize] committee to find each year suitable laureates is a condemnation of the overall quality of African presidential leadership."

The latest recipient of the prize, in 2020, was Mahamadou Issoufou, Niger's President, from 2011-2021. Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, Sebastian Elischer, has written that Issoufou "failed to strengthen fundamental democratic rights such as free and fair elections, freedom of association, and freedom of speech." He continues: "If anything, the Issoufou era is a textbook case of democratic backsliding."

Is Chakwera's award worth celebrating?

Like Issoufor of Niger, questions remain around the quality and authenticity of Chakwera's political leadership. Had it not been so, this author would gladly have shared in celebrations around the Malawian President's award, precisely because of his Christian faith.

In 2020, this author published a piece highlighting "the incongruence between the large numbers of professing Christians in Africa [including fifteen heads of state or government at the time] and the challenges of governance experienced in many parts of the continent." The argument about incongruence assumes that Christians, because they claim, implicitly or otherwise, to live according to biblical standards, should make better citizens and better statesmen and stateswomen. By "better," this author means that at the very least, Christians should be more honest, transparent, and service-oriented in their citizenship and their leadership, political or otherwise. ???

Chakwera's political leadership, however, has left this African, who happens to share the Malawian President's faith, uninspired, if only because of an interview held on the BBC's HARDtalk in July 2021. The discussion between Chakwera and Sarah Montague made it apparent that Malawi's President lacks authenticity as a leader. Reporting on the interview, a Malawi24 journalist wrote, "Malawians are mocking President Lazarus Chakwera for a poor BBC HARDtalk interview."

At the time of the interview, Chakwera and his entourage were in the UK for a Global Education Summit. Montague asked Chakwera questions across several issues, including job creation, the Malawian government's handling of COVID-19, the state of the country's economy, and a point of particular interest to this piece, nepotism.

Authentic leadership

Good leadership, the kind of leadership one ought to look out for when deciding on the "African of the Year," is made up of both character and competence. Authentic leadership is one element of character-based leadership. Authentic leadership theory is concerned with "whether leadership is genuine and 'real.'"

In light of the present era that is characterized by an increasing distrust in political leaders, a growing mistrust in democracy, an increase in corporate scandals, and the increase of systemic risk in a globalized world that raises the premium on certainty (think COVID-19), authentic leadership presents itself as a particularly valuable construct. Leadership expert Peter Northouse observes, "People feel apprehensive and insecure about what is going on around them, and as a result, they long for bona fide leadership they can trust and for leaders who are honest and good."

There are four core components of authentic leadership: self-awareness, internalized moral perspective, balanced processing, and relational transparency. Self-awareness entails recognizing one's strengths and weaknesses and being aware of how one's behavior impacts others. Possessing an internalized moral perspective means the leader has a moral capacity that allows her to distinguish easily between her values and group or organizational values, as well as societal pressures, and engage in ethical and transparent decision-making and behavior consistent with these values. Balanced processing involves a leader's objective analysis of all relevant information and the willingness to solicit challenging views from others before making a decision. Relational transparency essentially refers to honesty. It involves presenting one's authentic self to others, openly sharing information, and appropriately expressing one's true thoughts and feelings. Significantly, scholars rely on authentic leadership to understand how leaders can and should prevent and avoid nepotism – a practice that has brought Chakwera's leadership into disrepute, notwithstanding his recent award. ????????

The definition and universality of nepotism

One definition of nepotism is "the practice of showing favoritism to family members during the hiring process or…promotion deliberations." Another definition ?is "unfair displays of favoritism by a leadership source (i.e., an individual leader, a group, or an organization) that are based on kinship."

Nepotism, therefore, is different from cronyism and elitism, although all three practices may have similar consequences. Cronyism involves "showing partiality to long-standing friends, especially when appointing them to public office without regard for their qualifications." Elitism consists of gathering upper-classmen "to enhance their class positions." This practice creates an out-group that may feel alienated and devalued and questions the motives of those in power, leading to negative feelings.??????

Like sub-standard political leadership, nepotism is not a uniquely African problem or confined to the contemporary era. While citing Western examples, scholars remind us that "For millennia, the leadership of tribes, kingdoms, and nations has been transferred from parent to offspring or other kin within the extended family unit." Nevertheless, Greg Mills of the Brenthurst Foundation contends that "The system [of governance] many African leaders have preferred thrives on corruption and nepotism." Joel Savage, a Ghanain-Belgian journalist and author, writes, "nepotism is…deeply rooted in all African governments."

Why nepotism is a problem

Scholars, including this one, have contributed towards a growing sense of concern over the quality and ethics of political leadership at the national, regional, and global levels. Nepotism is one example of unethical leadership practice. This is especially so in a democracy, as is the case with Malawi.

Scholars have found nepotism to have several adverse effects on the work environment, including perceptions of inequity; colleagues known or perceived to have benefited through nepotism are viewed less favorably than others; job stress, and reduced satisfaction levels among employees. Furthermore, nepotism can degrade the value otherwise given to honesty and qualification within an organization, leading to a failure to fulfill procedural justice expectations and reduced levels of follower motivation, leading to a lack of commitment to their jobs, leader, and organization. These effects can contribute toward distrust amongst employees and, more importantly, between employees and employers or organizational leaders.

On the other hand, trust in leadership is associated with "increased commitment, belief in information, organizational citizenship behaviors, greater satisfaction with…leaders, and greater intentions to stay." These are all valuable attributes in a national democratic context and suggest a correlation in South Africa, for example, between the low levels of trust in political leaders and public institutions and the sharp rise in South Africans leaving the country.

Nepotism can negatively affect any organization, but to the degree that nepotistic leadership has implications for a nation, whether directly or indirectly, immediately or incrementally, is the extent to which it can jeopardize national security. One account of England's monarchy in the 13th and 14th centuries is instructive in this regard:

"England's King Edward II was arguably England's worst monarch. His father, Edward I (called "Longshanks"; both are depicted in the movie Braveheart), taught the young Edward statesmanship and warcraft from an early age. However, Edward II showed little interest in war or government, instead focusing on boating and craftmaking. He was considered by the court to have very poor leadership qualities. When Edward I died suddenly, Edward II ascended the throne. He was soon accused of giving too much authority and power to his friends, led his troops in the worst defeat in the history of the English army, and was abandoned by his wife for her lover (the two later led a successful invasion of England). Edward II was forced to abdicate his throne (to his 14-year-old son) and was subsequently murdered."??

Scholars contend that "inequity and nepotism often go hand in hand" and that "unfairness is an integral part of nepotism." Nepotism can also encourage corruption. Scholars agree that nepotism serves as "the genesis of corruption because people who benefit from the process may give in to the request demanded from them." As such, nepotism can be harmful to society for the same reasons as corruption. Inequity, unfairness, and corruption are opposed to democratic governance.

For democracy to bear the fruits that democratic theory claims it can, its elected leaders must determine to serve the people. Having been elected to power by the people to serve the people's collective interests, a democratically elected president is morally obliged to appoint to positions of power and authority those who possess both the character and the competence necessary to serve citizens' best interests. This is why cadre deployment, a practice that combines cronyism and elitism, presently under focus in the South African media, is a significant threat to any democracy.

Citizens of a country, specifically a democracy, shouldn't expect perfection from political leaders. Still, they have every right to expect the best that their political leaders have to offer. This includes appointing the best qualified and ethical individuals to government positions.???

Irrespective of whether a government is democratic or not, nepotism has and will always risk jeopardizing the effectiveness and competence of leaders and the organizations they lead because it involves appointing family members who are lesser qualified or not qualified at all to positions of influence and responsibility. In short, nepotism hurts leadership effectiveness. By implication, nepotism is detrimental to everything that falls within the ambit of a leader's responsibility.

Nepotism under Chakwera's presidency

The HARDtalk interview of 28 July 2021 between the BBC's Sarah Montague and Malawi's President encourages questions around Chakwera's authenticity as a leader. The period in the interview devoted to Chakwera's family appointments particularly reveals a political leader who lacks authenticity.

Montague broached the issue of nepotism, although she didn't explicitly use the term, by first citing passages from Chakwera's inaugural address as President of Malawi in July 2020: "I challenge those in parliament to act professionally, to set a good example. The time of giving free handouts is passed." Later in the interview, Montague quoted Chakwera from an address he had made in Malawi's parliament in 2019, criticizing the then ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over ethnicism and nepotism:??

"If there's a vacancy at a foreign embassy that requires a professional and career diplomat, the DPP will send someone unqualified whose only credential is being related to someone at State House by tribe or blood, because it is a chance for someone to steal from Malawians."

Chakwera clearly understood in 2019 that ethnicism and nepotism were problems in the Malawian government. Montague asked Chakwera whether his appointment of his daughter, Violet, as a diplomat to Brussels was a good example. Chakwera denied that this was true but failed to clarify the matter. Earlier in the month of the interview, several Malawian news publications, among them those citing the President's Press Secretary Brian Banda, reported otherwise (see here, here, and here).

Whatever the case regarding Violet's alleged appointment to a post in Brussels, the BBC released a story in early January 2022, confirming that Chakwera's daughter had been appointed at the Malawi High Commission in London as the First Secretary responsible for investments. It seems that even if Violet was "not going as a Third Secretary to a mission in Belgium" at the time of the Hardtalk interview, she was always going to be taking up a diplomatic position somewhere.??

Speaking to Violet's appointment as a diplomat to Brussels, Banda denied that the appointment of the President's daughter was nepotism "because she is qualified" and had undergone diplomatic orientation. What in this instance, however, does it mean to be qualified? What is it that makes Violet Chakwera, in her father's words in 2019, "a professional and career diplomat"? Is it enough that Violet had undergone diplomatic orientation? How is it that she came to be included in the group of trainees for the diplomatic orientation in the first place? ?

In mid-2021, the Malawian President hired his daughter as a Personal Assistant in his office. One news report, citing Violet's Linkedin profile, states she was previously employed at Kenyan Airways and Malawian Airways as a Reservations Sales Agent. Assuming the professional career profile belongs to her and thinking it's true, Violet has qualifications in travel and tourism, with her bachelor's degree in the same field only completed in 2020. Malawi's The Nation news publication was correct to argue that "Chakwera's daughter… wouldn't be ranked as a career foreign service personnel or expert in international relations."

When the procedures followed during employment or promotion are objective, the focus is on the competence and qualification of a family member rather than kinship, and the credentials of the family member outweigh those of other candidates; nepotism need not necessarily be at play. However, even if this kind of objectivity characterized the appointment of Chakwera's daughter as a diplomat (this is doubtful), the perception of nepotism either among government employees or in public, and particularly in a democratic dispensation, is enough to have the same consequences for leadership effectiveness as actual nepotism. This is why democratically elected political leaders who wish to promote trust and unity within their immediate environs, within government more broadly, and across the nation will do well to avoid family appointments altogether.

In his relatively short time as Malawi's President, Chakwera has failed convincingly in this regard. Revealing further the disparity between Chakwera's words and his actions and questioning the Malawian President's implied commitment to having professional and career diplomats serving the country's citizens abroad, the Leader of the Opposition in the Malawian Parliament, Kondwani Nankhumwa, criticized Chakwera in mid-2021 of appointing Judges and individuals with family ties as High Commissioners and Ambassadors.

Defending himself during the HARDtalk interview against Montague's assertion, concerning Malawi's foreign service, that Chakwera was engaging in the same nepotism over which he had criticized the previous government, Chakwera answered Montague what he had also communicated in an interview with Malawi's Daily Times newspaper: these appointments are not his to make – "he is only responsible for appointing ambassadors and deputy ambassadors." However, had Chakwera been sincere in his critique of Malawi's previous government, serious about fulfilling the commitments he made during his inaugural address as Malawi's President, and serious about building trust among Malawians in his government and leadership, he would not have allowed the appointment of his daughter in such a post, no matter how qualified she may or may not have been.

The fact that Chakwera had with him in London during the time of the HARDtalk interview a delegation of nine other people (all at British taxpayers' expense), three of whom were family members – his wife, daughter, and son-law – while Malawi's Foreign Minister remained home, only serves to fuel perceptions and allegations of nepotism against the Malawian President, which it is precisely why Montague challenged him on this. In defense of his President's decision to fly three family members to the UK while on official duty, Malawi's Minister of Information, Gospel Kazako, explained:

"Mr Kampondeni [Chakwera's son-in-law] is the President's Executive Assistant and Director of Communications, Ms Violet Chakwera is the Personal Assistant to the First Lady while it is traditional worldwide that the First Lady accompanies the President on his travels."

Suppose Chakwera, or any democratically elected president for that matter, must have the support of his kin on an official trip (there can be value in this). In that case, he should pay the costs personally and out of the presidential salary. The fact that Chakwera's daughter and son-in-law happened to be official employees of the state while joining Chakwera on his trip to the UK only aggravates concerns and allegations over nepotism in the Chakwera Presidency.

Chakwera's failure to be an authentic leader

Using the BBC Hardtalk interview as an entry point for comparing what Chakwera committed to before and upon becoming President of Malawi and what has prevailed in his leadership behavior after that, it becomes apparent that the ALM's "2021 African of the Year" lacks authenticity.??

Less than a month following his inauguration as President, Chakwera featured in a New African interview titled, "President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi: God's man in State House." In the interview, and concerning Malawi and his leadership, Chakwera, whether implicitly or explicitly, committed to the "independence of the judiciary," "the consolidation of democracy," practicing one's espoused principles, servant leadership, national unity, the value of honesty, fighting corruption, good ethics, seeking "the common good," and "good governance."

By engaging in and allowing nepotism in his government – a practice that harms each of the above-mentioned ideals – Chakwera has reneged on his commitments. The behavior of authentic leaders "reflects consistency between their values, beliefs, and actions." Furthermore, "executives who fail to display consistency between their words and deeds can expect to lose the trust of followers." The New African publication asked, rhetorically:

"Can 'the man of God' deliver where so many of his former secular predecessors have failed? Will he be able to reconcile his deeply-held religious ethics with the worldly demands of political expediency? Will Chakwera, as many across Africa hope, set a new bar for Presidential behaviour while in office?"

Considering the BBC HARDtalk interview and other supporting evidence from the perspective of authentic leadership, the answer, at least in as far as the issue of nepotism is concerned, is, unfortunately, a resounding no.

Is it possible that Chakwera does not recognize the likely impact of his nepotism and the nepotism of his government on those working in government and the Malawian citizenry more broadly? Is it possible that he lacks self-awareness? His rhetoric before and at becoming President of Malawi suggests that he would recognize the consequences of his nepotistic behavior – if only that it would upset Malawians and detract from his support base, and rightly so.

The alternative is that he is aware but because he is now in power and because of short-term self-interest, family interest, and elite interest, he does not care enough or possess the determination and courage to change course from his predecessors. This questions whether Chakwera keeps an internalized moral perspective that allows him to deny societal pressures and engage in ethical and transparent decision-making and behavior that is consistent with the values he professes.

Appointing his son-in-law as his Executive Assistant, his daughter as a Personal Assistant, and allowing her appointment later as an unqualified diplomat to a foreign country suggests he did not engage before these family appointments in an objective analysis of all relevant information. Put simply, he failed to engage in balanced processing of information and subsequently failed to make the right decisions.

Of the four core components of authentic leadership, Chakwera's poor responses to the questions set before him during the BBC Hardtalk interview highlight most prominently the absence of relational transparency in his leadership. Because relational transparency promotes trust, it is the absence thereof that is likely to have done the most damage to Chakwera's reputation among Malawians, and it will be one of the factors underlying the protests and demonstrations that broke out across Malawi in late 2021 and that have continued into the new year. ????

Recommendations for a turnaround

A Chinese proverb reads, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now." That Chakwera has failed to be an authentic leader until now does not necessarily mean it is too late for him to make amends and restore a semblance of trust in his government, his presidency, and his leadership. The best time for Chakwera to have started leading authentically as Malawi's President was from the moment he was inaugurated on 6 July 2020. The second-best time for him to begin leading authentically is now.??

For Chakwera to cause a turnaround in negative perceptions of his leadership and his government more broadly, and for him to repair the damage he has done is not impossible, but it will take courage and determination. To motivate him in this endeavor, the Church in Malawi will do well to follow the advice of Pius Abioje, Professor of Religions at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Abioje writes, "political leaders are usually prone to abuse of their positions, and they need to be reprimanded."

A good start for Chakwera will be acknowledging where nepotism has taken hold in his government, the nepotism he is guilty of, the dishonesty and inconsistency he has displayed, and the consequences of these leadership and ethical failures. He will do well to apologize for these failures and the embarrassment he caused the Malawian people, his political colleagues, and indeed, from this author's perspective, the Malawian Church, during his interview with Sarah Montague on the BBC's Hardtalk.

Beyond giving recognition and apologies where these are due, Chakwera will need to engage in restorative justice, without which his admissions and apologies will carry little value. In this case, restorative justice could and should take the form of recalling those government officials appointed to their posts because of family ties, including his daughter Violet and replacing them with persons who have completed objective and merit-based appointment and promotion procedures.

In following these steps, Chakwera may lend to the ALM "African of the Year" award (scheduled to be handed over next month) some of the credibility it is presently lacking. Suppose he fails to do so and continues on his current trajectory. In that case, Malawians can only hope their President will follow through with the commitment he made during a new year's message in 2019: "And within the first two years of being President, I will change everything in the way that we run things. If I don't change everything in two years, I will resign." ??

Craig Bailie holds a Master’s degree in International Studies from Rhodes University and a certificate in Thought Leadership for Africa’s Renewal from the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute. He is presently studying towards a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership through Regent University in the US. The views expressed are his own and he reserves the right to improve them whenever possible.?