Confusion

Confusion continued to reign supreme in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday with former governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secretary general (SG) Grezelder Jeffery saying she does not know that she has been appointed vice-president of the party for the Centre.

But Jeffrey was quick to refer to the National Government Council (NGC) meeting her faction held in Lilongwe on Wednesday, insisting that the party will proceed with the convention on December 15 and 16 2023 at the Natural Resources College (NRC) in Lilongwe as agreed at the meeting.

Jeffrey, who is in the faction loyal to the party’s vice-president for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa, said they agreed to hold the convention on those dates so as not to be in conflict with the September 29 High Court order that the party should hold an elective national conference within 90 days.

But the party’s president Peter Mutharika, who has called for a meeting of the party’s central committee at his Page House in Mangochi this morning, has dismissed the Wednesday NGC meeting and its resolutions calling them “illegal and invalid”, respectively.

In the ensuing drama, Mutharika quoting powers vested in him in Article 10(8) of the DPP constitution, in a statement released on Thursday re-assigned Jeffrey as vice-president for the Centre and replaced her with Clement Mwale.

However, addressing the media in Lilongwe yesterday, a fully-charged Jeffrey said she has not been communicated to about her removal as SG and that she will continue holding and discharging duties as SG until after the scheduled December 15-16 2023 elective convention.

“I was elected at the 2018 convention as the party’s SG, so if I have to leave the office, it has to be through the same process.

“At the moment, as DPP SG I called you the media to give you an update on our preparations for the convention that we are on track,” she said.

Asked whether she would attend today’s meeting at the Page House, Jeffrey said she had not received any invitation to attend the meeting.

Mwanza Central legislator Nicholas Dausi, who the contested NGC meeting elected chairperson of the December 15-16 convention, said the window is now open for those aspiring for any position to go and collect nomination forms and pay the required nomination fees at the party’s headquarters.

He said: “Positions are free for all. Those aspiring for the presidency will pay K1 million, for the position of vice-president the fee is K500 000, directors will be required to pay K300 000 while for their deputies the fee is K200 000 and, as I said before, anybody is free to contest at any position.”

He also mentioned that at the convention, the party will use the list of delegates which the party used during the 2018 convention, where regional and district committee delegates will be 15 each while each constituency will have three delegates.

But reacting to the development, the party’s spokesperson Shadric Namalomba insisted that whatever Jeffrey and the other members are doing is illegal and has no party blessings.

Since Mutharika lost the presidency to President Lazarus Chakwera in the court-sanctioned presidential election in June 2020, DPP has been fraught with divisions and disagreements largely emanating from struggles for the party leadership. So far, there are about seven people, including Mutharika, who aspire for the party presidency.

In July this year, the party’s NGC meeting made a resolution that the elective conference will happen in 2024 but High Court Judge Simeon Mdeza nullified the decision on the basis that the party had failed to comply with a court order made on May 5 2022.

In the May 2022 order, the court had ordered DPP to hold a duly-constituted NGC and Central Committee meetings within a reasonable time in accordance with the DPP Constitution. Mdeza then ordered the party to hold an elective national conference within 90 days after February 28 2023.

Asked what the rift between Mutharika and Jeffrey means, private practice lawyer John Gift Mwakhwawa pointed out that rules of justice demand that one has to be heard before a decision is made on them.

He said if this was not done when Mutharika removed Jeffrey as SG the decision may have implications on the party

Speaking to The Nation on Wednesday, political expert George Chaima sided with Jeffrey for respecting a court order on holding the NGC meeting within 90 days. But South Africa-based law expert Danwood Chirwa cast doubts if the party will collectively accept the elected leaders at the convention.