Why did Hastings Banda maintain diplomatic ties with apartheid South Africa?

Hastings Kamuzu Banda maintained diplomatic ties with the apartheid regime in South Africa primarily for economic and strategic reasons. As a landlocked nation, Malawi relied on regional stability and trade routes, and South Africa provided significant direct aid to the country.12

Banda’s decision to establish these close ties made Malawi the foundation of South Africa’s "outward-looking" foreign policy in Africa. While this alignment was consistent with his conservative, pro-Western political orientation, it was highly controversial and unpopular among other African leaders in the region, who sought to isolate the minority-ruled government in South Africa. Even after Malawi joined the Southern African Development Coordination Conference—a group of majority-ruled nations aiming to reduce their economic dependence on South Africa—Banda refused to sever his diplomatic relationship with the regime.2134