Chimunthu not yet retiring

Outgoing Speaker of Parliament Henry Chimunthu Banda has acknowledged that he has not retired from politics, saying he is on a five-year sabbatical leave.

But according to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), this is not surprising for a man who attained the position of Speaker insisting “the dynamics of 2014 may not promise him such authority again.”

“In view of mere membership in Parliament, a better political move is to abdicate temporarily from politics, hoping after some years, changes in the political dynamics would offer him another window of leadership,” said CCJP national secretary Chris Chisoni.

In an exclusive interview, the Speaker also agreed that his recent announcement that he will not participate in the May 20 polls is a result of the outcome of his party’s convention where he lost in the presidential contest.

Asked to confirm reports that he intended to form his own political party, the Nkhotakota North MPsaid “Nothing can be further from the truth.”

“I have heard of such stories before and I have just scoffed at them. My view has been not to dignify such stories with my responses. What such people ought to know is that under the Republican Constitution I have the inherent rights to form or not to form, to join or not to join a political party. But the fact still stands that as for the 2014 elections, I am not participating,” he said.

Added Chimunthu-Banda: “With the outcome of the DPP convention, I am not in a hurry to decide on the way forward.”

He said: “I want to use the sabbatical period of 2014-2019 for some deep reflection on my political destination.”

At some point, media reports suggested that chiefs in Nkhotakota North Constituency—where the Speaker is also group village head—opposed the idea of Chimunthu Banda’s “sabbatical leave”.

“I had to follow the necessary traditional channels to engage them effectively on the matter. So, I can reconfirm that I am not standing as a member of Parliament during the forthcoming elections,” he affirmed.

Chimunthu Banda said the opposition to his ‘retirement’ did not surprise him because he related well with his constituents during the