Words can influence opinion --- Mud sliding is common in politics especially during campaign, for instance, Former President of Malawi, Bakili Muluzi often said, "John Tembo is a crook" or "John Tembo (JT) has blood in his hands" to hit on an opposition leader who served as a right hand of a former dictator, Kamuzu Banda. These words had great influence because associative meaning they had with atrocities committed by the government in which JT was influential. It helped to recall a dark past and influenced voters.

Source author: MacOswald Jumali macjumali@yahoo.com