APM camp sets tone for DPP convention

Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) National Governing Council (NGC) is expected to meet on Wednesday in Mangochi District to discuss the party’s convention.

This follows a resolution DPP’s central executive committee meeting—convened by the party’s president Peter Mutharika at his Mangochi beachside private residence—made yesterday.

This is the party’s second NGC meeting in a week. Another one was convened last Wednesday at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe by the party’s former secretary general (SG) Greselder Jeffrey, who has since been replaced by Clement Mwale.

Jeffrey has since been moved to the position of party vice-president for the Central Region.

In a communiqué released after the four-hour meeting that started around noon, the party’s administrative secretary Francis Mphepo referred to the impending NGC meeting as ‘properly constituted’.

He said the central executive committee also confirmed Mwale’s appointment as their new SG and will work with Mutharika to call for the NGC meeting.

Reads part of the communiqué: “The meeting was held today [yesterday] and resolved that the secretary general consults with the president [of the party] and thereafter calls for the meeting of the national governing council.”

The DPP constitution mandates the central committee to set dates for the NGC meeting, call for a convention and determine the agenda for it. The SG is then supposed to consult party leader on the NGC meeting, which then meets and sets dates for the convention.

Briefing the media after the meeting outside Mutharika’s residence yesterday, DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said four out of seven members of the central executive committee members showed up.

He said this is regardless that invitations were sent to them.

The central executive committee members that attended the meeting include Mutharika, the party’s vice-president (North) Jappie Mhango, who also doubles as treasurer general, vice-president (East) Bright Msaka and director of youth Dyton Mussa.

Mwale, the newly ‘anointed’ SG, was also in attendance.

Jeffrey, DPP vice-president (South) Kondwani Nankhumwa and director of women Cecilia Chazama are the committee’s members that did not attend the meeting.

Said Namalomba: “We invited them for the meeting and perhaps you even saw letters circulating. I would have even shown you the invitation letters.

“But that is not worrisome because a quorum was formed and the committee had to carry on with the deliberations.”

Both Jeffrey and Chazama could not be reached yesterday, but Nankhumwa said he was not invited to the meeting.

He said: “Ask him [Namalomba] to show evidence that I was invite,” said the Leader of Opposition in a WhatsApp response.

However, Nankhumwa could not be drawn to comment further on the resolutions of the meeting and the subsequent NGC meeting.

On Thursday, some lawyers faulted the Nankhumwa and Jeffrey faction for calling the NGC meeting.

Private practice lawyer John Gift Mwakhwawa said even though Jeffrey stressed that the meeting was in keeping with a September 29 High Court of Malawi ruling that ordered the party to hold a convention within 90 days, her failure to follow laid out procedures rendered the resolutions at the meeting void.

He said: “The meeting flouted party procedures. Every resolution made there would be void because they had to follow procedures.

“It does not mean that the party has to flout procedures to comply with the court judgement. If the central committee did not meet to set the dates for the NGC, then nobody has the power to set dates for the NGC.”

In a separate interview, another private practice lawyer, Khumbo Soko, said the DPP constitution will always provide a way out.

He said: “It will establish how meetings are to be done and the power to convene. If the meeting was convened in a manner which contravenes the party constitution, then the party through internal processes can rectify that, by nullifying the outcome of whatever happened.

“Alternatively, the party can head back to court to determine on whether or not whatever happened on Wednesday was valid because there is a court order which compels the party to do certain things within a specified time frame.”