Pro-Government Militias
Youth League (Malawi Congress Party) (Malawi)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 90 |
| Country: | Malawi |
| Date formed: | Aug. 2, 1986 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | The Youth League is the youth wing of the Malawi Congress Party. The date formed refers to the date first mentioned. |
| Date dissolved: | Dec. 10, 1993 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | In December 1993, the Malawian army destroyed the headquarter of the Malawi Congress Party's Youth League. It can be assumed that this event terminated the group. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no information |
| Former Armed Group? | no information |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | person/minister |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister |
| If link to party, name of party: | |
| Training and Equipment: | no information |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; plunder and loot |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | adolescents; party activists |
| Primary Membership: | political |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | whole country, esp. Lilongwe (capital) and Blantyre (largest city) |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, 20000] |
| Target(s): | civilians; criminals; immigrants; unarmed political opposition, government critics |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious leader(s); self-defense and security; intimidation of civilians |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Although the Young Pioneers (Malawi Congress Party) and the Youth League (Malawi Congress Party) were wings of the same ruling party and had similar tasks, both groups were separated. Whereas the former group acted as official paramilitary group, the latter one was primarily responsible for political repression. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The Youth League’s purpose was to intimidate and repress political opposition and civilians, as well as fight crime. They were instrumental in maintaining the political power of President Banda. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | The Youth League regularly used beatings, threats, extortion and killings against critical citizens. The killings were decided on a MPC-meeting; other actions were allegedly either unknown or ignored by President Banda. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | killing; beating |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | In 1986, a news source estimates the Youth League to have 20,000 members. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The Youth League used fire bombs. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The Youth League was controlled by John Tembo, a Malawi Congress Party politician. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.