MCP seeking legal advice on VP’s assistant case

Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has said it is seeking legal advice on how it can employ other means to get fair justice in a case involving Vice-President Saulos Chilima’s personal assistant Moses Kuchingale.

Kuchingale is accused of impersonating a Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) official in the just-ended Mchinji West by-election.

His conduct caused tension, with the MCP suspecting the PA was on a mission to rig the by-election.

Mchinji Police officer-in-charge (OC) Maximus Thomson Bakali confirmed in an earlier interview that they did not arrest Kuchingale in spite of receiving a complaint against him.

In an interview last week, MEC acting spokesperson Richard Mveriwa told The Nation that the commission is yet to receive the official complaint from MCP on the matter.

He also said the commission was “investigating the matter as to how the VP’s personal assistant managed to get hold of the MEC attire to use and his intention in doing whatever he did”.

MCP director of elections Maxwell Thyolera told The Nation yesterday, the party is not satisfied with the way the electoral body is handling the case.

He further said they were surprised with MEC claims that MCP officials did not make a formal complaint on the matter “when I personally did so immediately the incident happened”.

Said Thyolera: “When this incident happened, I was advised to write a formal complaint which I did and submitted [to] the constituency returning officer and the DC [district commissioner]. We felt MEC and law enforcers would handle this issue with high levels of professionalism because there is an element of crime being committed through impersonating a MEC official.”

He said “reluctance” by MEC and the law enforcers gives them an impression that the two entities are not ready to get to the bottom of this issue.

“But MCP wishes to assure this nation that we are taking this matter further because we are tired of vote rigging in this country. We will seek legal advice on how we can get justice in the event that MEC and law enforcers choose to disregard it,” stated Thyolera.

Mveriwa could not be reached on his mobile phone yesterday for a comment on MCP’s direction on the matter.

Efforts to get a comment from the Vice-President’s office also proved futile.

Kuchingale is alleged to have visited a number of polling centres, namely; Mzura Full Primary School, Mchinji Community Day Secondary School, Mchinji Secondary School and Kamwendo Trading Centre while posing as a MEC official. n