Malawi Defence Force

Military of Malawi
Coat of arms of Malawi
Service branches	Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit)
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Peter Mutharika
Commanding General	Henry Odillo
Manpower
Military age	18
Reaching military age annually	(2002 est.)
Active personnel	25,500 (ranked 140th)
Expenditures
Budget	$9.5 million (FY00/01)
Percent of GDP	0.76% (FY00/01)
Related articles
History	Mozambican Civil War Operation Bwezani M23 Rebellion ADF Insurgency

The Malawi Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. It originated from British colonial units formed before independence in 1964.

The Malawi Rifles was a unit in the Malawi Army formed on the country's gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1964. Its first battalion was formed from the 1st Battalion, King's African Rifles. On independence the battalion became 1st Battalion, The Malawi Rifles (King's African Rifles). They were based (and elements still may be based) at Cobbe Barracks, Zomba. On 6 July 1966 Malawi became a republic and Kamuzu Banda became the first president of the new republic. After the swearing in ceremony his first duty was to present the battalion with his own presidential colour and the new regimental colour. It was under the leadership of Brigadier Paul Lewis, a British expatriate. In 1964, at Malawi's independence, the Malawian Army consisted of one battalion with 2,000 soldiers at Cobbe Barracks in Zomba.

The Malawi Army is now made up of two rifle regiments and one parachute regiment. The military is organized under the purview of the Ministry of Defence. State Department IMET training documentation from FY 2003 indicates the United States trained army personnel from the 2nd Battalion, Malawi Rifles, 3rd Battalion, Malawi Rifles (Moyale Barracks), the Parachute Battalion, and the Combat Support Battalion (Mvera).

In 1993, the army played a vital role in dismantling the dictatorship of Kamuzu Banda. After Banda announced multi-party elections, the army intervened by dismantling Banda's paramilitary wing, the Malawi Young Pioneers in one night during an operation called "Bwezani" which means "taking back" or "returning". This event marked a vital point in the ideology of the Malawi Army that was to follow. The Malawi Army was shown to have no political aspirations themselves, and allowed the democratic process to ensue in Malawi as guided by civilians.