The Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP) were the paramilitary wing of the Malawi Congress Party. Their Commander-in-Chief was President Hastings Kamuzu Banda. They originally were supposed to function as a national youth service program with a development agenda. However over time, they strayed away from this agenda and became an intricate network of espionage and terror. The Young Pioneers were a major instrument for the operationalisation of Dr Banda's one-party totalitarian dictatorship and domestic terrorism. Pioneers bore arms, conducted espionage and intelligence operations, and were Banda's most trusted bodyguards around Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Both the Malawi Army and Police resented the Pioneers for usurping their roles as security agents.