APM bares knuckles
Former president Peter Mutharika yesterday took off the gloves and lambasted some opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members for lack of loyalty to him and the party, developments that have disintegrated the party.
Speaking during the party’s national governing council (NGC) meeting in Mangochi, he urged DPP members to promote discipline and unity if the party is to emerge victorious in the 2025 General Elections.
His sentiments come amid wrangles that have rocked the former governing party where a faction loyal to vice-president responsible for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa also held an NGC meeting in Lilongwe last week and set an elective national convention for December 15 and 16. However, the High Court of Malawi on Monday granted an order suspending implementation of resolutions from that meeting.
In his address, a visibly charged and emotional Mutharika faulted the recently replaced DPP secretary general (SG) Grezelder Jeffrey for calling for the Lilongwe NGC meeting, saying no one is above the party.
He said: “The position of the SG takes orders from the [party] president, who is the most important person in the party and the chief executive officer.
“That is why I even find it hard that a person [Nankhumwa] can sue his party 14 times. The party has lost a lot of money paying lawyers to defend cases brought to court by its own members.”
Mutharika also called on party member Ken Msonda, who was present in the meeting hall, to stop insulting him as party president.
“You [Msonda] have been insulting me. Remember you are not a member of this party. You came from PP [People’s Party]. You were not there when [former president] Joyce Banda was tear-gassing us. This stupidity must stop or you can go back to PP,” he said.
Ironically, Msonda also attended the ‘parallel’ NGC meeting held last Wednesday in Lilongwe.
Mutharika said Malawians expect DPP, which was voted out during the court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election on June 23 2020, to rescue the country as “they now realise that they were wrong to boot the DPP out of government”.
He said: “The Malawi Congress Party and the Tonse Alliance want to take us back to the one-party State. Many people have been asking me that they want us to get back in government.”
During yesterday’s meeting, delegates set December 26 and 27 as dates to hold a convention. The meeting was attended by 45 delegates who were allowed to enter the meeting hall.
Newly appointed SG Clement Mwale set the tone for the meeting by stating the agenda which was to set convention dates. Delegates supported the motion.
He also said invitations were sent to the estranged members, namely Nankhumwa, Jeffrey and Cecilia Chazama.
Said Mwale: “No one should take advantage to nullify this NGC meeting. All present here are genuine DPP members, what happened [in Lilongwe] wasn’t real.
“We want to unite ahead of the elections and have an affirmation of victory by close of polling in September, 2025.”
Notable faces at yesterday’s meeting included aspirants for the DPP presidency, Joseph Mwanamvekha, Bright Msaka and Paul Gadama.
Former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor Dalitso Kabambe, who is also aspiring for the presidency, was not in the room alongside NGC members Jean Kalirani, Francis Mphepo, Mary Navicha, Charles Mchacha and Jappie Mhango following a court ruling that they were incorporated into the NGC, as such, not bonafide members.
In an interview yesterday, University of Malawi professor of law Garton Kamchedzera said it was a tricky moment to comment on the developments in DPP as some matters are still in court, pending judgement.
He said: “Generally, it will depend on which convention is valid to the court in terms of the people who have the authority to call it and what the procedures to call it say. I think that’s what the courts will be asked to do.”
High Court of Malawi Judge Howard Pemba is expected to rule on an application by Jeffrey to suspend Mutharika’s decision to remove her from the position of SG.
Jeffrey is also seeking an injunction restraining Mwale from exercising the powers and functions of SG and stopping Mutharika and DPP from interfering with her work.
