Former president Peter Mutharika’s fitness amid his advanced age has come under the spotlight as the octogenarian leads the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as presidential candidate in the September 16 General Election.
In recent months, his public appearances have been scarce and during the presentation of nomination papers to Malawi Electoral Commission in Lilongwe he was seen struggling to walk.
On Sunday, Mutharika, 85, did not attend the launch of his party’s manifesto during an indoor function at Sunbird Mount Soche in the morning while in the afternoon he stayed put in an open vehicle from where he addressed the DPP campaign launch rally at Njamba Freedom Park in Blantyre.
Justifying his failure to disembark from the vehicle to the podium, DPP secretary general Peter Mukhito said the arrangement was a strategic security move amid purported intelligence reports that the former president was a target.
In separate interviews yesterday, legal, health and political pundits agreed that old age may be catching up with Mutharika and that the DPP was taking a gamble to front him as presidential candidate. However, the commentators said Mutharika remained strong if his articulation of issues is anything to go by.
Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Kuhes) professor of epidemiology Adamson Muula said Mutharika was a grown person who should be able to decide what he wants to do with his life.
He said: “President Mutharika should have his medical team which he consults from time to time. To a great extent, APM’s health is entirely his business.
“If he were a child and I believed there was something untoward, as a medical doctor registered in this country, it would have been my responsibility to get myself involved. But that is not the situation as I understand it.”
On his part, human rights lawyer Justin Dzonzi said while Mutharika is advanced in age, he still looked mentally fit as evidenced by how he articulated issues during the launch of the DPP manifesto last Sunday in Blantyre.
He said: “Of course it is a big gamble for the DPP, but you also know that people in DPP regard him as their ‘pangolin’ [magic wand]. He is popular and so, despite his old age, they are still hopeful that he will make them win.
“It is not the first time that we hear about old age. Remember during the 1994 elections, one issue for the opposition then was that [Malawi Congress Party candidate and the country’s founding president] Hastings Kamuzu Banda had grown old and they used that to de-campaign him.”
Dzonzi said ordinarily one ought to retire after 60 years, but it would be wrong to come up with a law that subjects all presidential candidates to mental and physical examination.
On the political front, an expert in politics for development at Mzuzu University, Chrispine Mphande said commenting on Mutharika or any person’s health was unethical, but the former president’s status was a national issue and has become a concern to most Malawians.
He said: “In my view, what I see is a manifestation of greed. The current state as per the pictures circulating, APM looks frail to manage the affairs of the high office. It’s very obvious he won’t be in charge. Some crude individuals will be managing.
“At the state our country is in, we need a vibrant and energetic person to manage the affairs of the nation. Those fronting him are simply displaying greed and manipulation.”
In a separate interview, political pundit Wonderful Mkhutche said Mutharika, being in his mid-80s cannot be expected to be as active as he used to be.
He said: “We must face the bitter truth that Peter Mutharika is not fit to run the affairs of the State. He is old and frail while asking for a job that needs one to be in the best condition of body and mind.
“Learning from this Peter Mutharika experience, we need to debate and decide on the maximum age for one to run for the office of the President. The same reason we have a retirement age in the civil service has to be used on the presidency.”
Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence said leadership of a nation requires not just intellectual capacity, but also physical stamina, presence and engagement.
He said: “Malawi must have a serious national conversation about assessing the health and fitness of presidential candidates. Just as we demand academic and professional qualifications, there should be a non-partisan mechanism to assess both mental and physical capacity.
“This will not be to discriminate, but to ensure the office of the presidency is not abused by those around the candidate.”
But Mutharika’s spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said the former head of State was in good health and fit for the high office.
He said: “The incoming President, His Excellency Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika is in excellent physical shape, just like a fiddle.
“A reporter even enquired about his health and he confidently replied, ‘have lived in this body for many years and I would be the first to know if I am not fit’. To answer you in short he is fit for office.”
Malawi heads to general election on September 16 to elect a President, members of Parliament and ward councillors.
