Chihana insists Mtambo remains Aford vice-president despite rift

Alliance for Democracy (Aford) president Enock Chihana insists that Timothy Mtambo remains the party’s vice-president, despite his public rejection of Aford’s alliance with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

In an exclusive interview, Chihana explained that Mtambo has not breached any party regulations by disagreeing with the majority decision to partner with the former governing party.

This is the first time Chihana, who serves as second deputy president within the Aford–DPP coalition, has publicly addressed Mtambo’s position, just a week before the September 16 general election.

Mtambo, at a press briefing in Lilongwe last month, said he cannot work with the party he campaigned against and that his position has not changed. He blamed Chihana for abandoning their shared mission to bring real change to Malawi.

Since then, he has never joined the campaign trail and neither has he been taking part in activities relating to Aford or the alliance.

But Chihana said in an interview that the choice Mtambo made is not a crime, but should rather give sense to Malawians that there is democracy in Aford unlike other political parties.

He said Aford champions democracy which it fought for towards the end of the first Malawi Congress Party rule.

“He chose to differ with the position of the party and we moved on. That is the chemistry of democracy which Aford is engineering in this country and letting other parties learn from us,” said Chihana.

“Mtambo is a freedom fighter and I am a democrat. So, our political mechanics are the same; hence, up to date we share notes on issues that concern Malawi and not Mtambo and I. for your information, honourable Mtambo is still the vice-president of the party because he has not broken any provision of the party by disagreeing with the majority.”

Mtambo, who leads Citizens for Transformation Movement—a pressure group which he founded, did not pick up our phone calls on more than five occasions and neither did he respond to our WhatsApp messages.

But reacting to the situation, political analyst Wonderful Mkhutche said Mtambo made a sensible decision when he distanced himself from the DPP and Aford alliance.

Mkhutche said it is possible to be in a party and yet not agree with some decisions the party has made. In such regard, Mkhutche said Mtambo has distanced himself from appearing contradictory.

He said: “However, I expect him to take the same stand should the alliance of DPP and Aford win the election. He is expected to distance himself from the government as well. However, this will be the greatest test of his political career.”

When asked about the terms and conditions of the DPP and Aford alliance amid perceptions that it is more beneficial to the latter, Chihana described it as very open and that the two parties have signed a document that is in the public domain.

Chihana further said the alliance has not been formed to benefit the two political parties, but to bail Malawians out of poverty.

“The level of poverty that has hit Malawians today is something I have never seen in my life. So, it is not about positions but a call to serve my country with sacred responsibility and patriotism,” he said.

“Benefits or no benefit in the Cabinet, I will duly serve my country. That one is the altar vow before the nation. However, to put the issue into perspective, Aford has a 40 percent share in the pact.”

Chihana said the Aford’s alliance with the DPP was further formed to stop Malawi from becoming a one-party State amid a crackdown in the opposition following defections from opposition political parties seeking greener pastures in MCP.

In the aftermath of the chaotic 2019 Tripartite Elections, Mtambo, who chaired the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, led nationwide demonstrations to force former Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson Jane Ansah to step down for presiding over a flawed election.

Ansah, a retired justice of appeal, is now running mate to DPP presidential candidate Peter Mutharika. Ansah is also contesting as legislator for Ntcheu North Constituency, the same area where Mutharika picked Everton Chimulirenji as running mate in the disputed 2019 polls.