PP fires acting president Uladi

People’s Party (PP) has fired its acting president Uladi Mussa from his position as vice-president responsible for the Central Region, exactly a month after suspending him for proclaiming that party president Joyce Banda’s term had expired.

Mussa’s sacking follows an endorsement by the party’s national executive committee (NEC) last week of the recommendations made by the disciplinary committee constituted by the party’s politburo.

PP publicity secretary Noah Chimpeni said in an interview yesterday the decision to relieve Mussa of his duties was made in Lilongwe last Thursday.

He said: “The party has indeed sacked Honourable Mussa as vice-president for Central Region because it was felt that what he did was a serious violation of the party’s constitution.

“However, he remains an ordinary member as well as member of Parliament [MP] for the party and that has already been communicated to him. That means he is free to contest for any position he wishes at our convention.”

PP suspended Mussa last month for declaring that he was taking over the party’s presidency from former head of State Banda, arguing that her tenure had expired.

Yesterday, Mussa could not be reached for his comment through his mobile phones, but in earlier interviews with The Nation he laughed off his suspension describing it as invalid.

He insisted that he remained a PP interim leader as the party’s constitution gives him the mandate to run the affairs.

But Chimpeni at the time said the party expected no resistance from Mussa following the pronouncement.

He said: “We expect him to respect the verdict of the party because similar decisions have been made before on other people such as Honourable Mzomera Ngwira and Honourable Khumbo Kachali when he [the latter] was the party leader.”

Chimpeni said Banda, who is currently in self-imposed exile since losing the presidential election in the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections, was also communicated and understood the NEC stand.

The party is yet to appoint Mussa’s replacement for both vice-president and interim party president, according to Chimpeni.

Commenting on the development, Mzuzu-based political commentator Emily Mkamanga described the stand taken by PP as suicidal arguing Mussa was the heart of the party.

She said: “That man [Mussa] took good care of the party in the absence of their leader and with his firing they should have no hope of surviving. To me, he was the only firm politician and now that they have fired him, they are leaderless and will have little influence, so that’s the end of the party.”

Things have been falling apart for the erstwhile ruling party since losing the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections and commentators have said the situation is being aggravated with the absence of the party leader.

Banda established PP after her expulsion from DPP in December 2010 alongside Kachali for protesting a succession plan to have Peter Mutharika as Bingu wa Mutharika’s successor. She served as the country’s Vice-President and ascended to the presidency in April 2012 in line with constitutional order after Bingu’s death.

PP was borne from a group initially called Friends of Joyce Banda at the time she was systematically detached from the government system.