Defence lawyers yesterday took turns to quiz witnesses, including Minister of Trade and Industry Vitumbiko Mumba in a case where he is challenging the handling of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) primaries in Mzimba Central Constituency.
Mumba, who recently resigned from the MCP national executive committee (NEC), took the party to court over the conduct of the primaries that saw presidential aide Adamson Kuseri Mkandawire declared winner on May 11 2025.
Presiding officer and MCP NEC member Maxwell Thyolera declared Mkandawire as winner with 262 votes against five for Mumba.
When the matter came for hearing in the High Court in Mzuzu yesterday, Mkandawire’s lawyer Justin Dzonzi alongside Gift Chimowa and Henry Debwe representing MCP, sought to know how the electoral college was established, resolution of challenges, communication and violence during the disputed polls.
In cross-examination, Dzonzi asked Mumba to outline his concerns.
Responding to the question, Mumba said: “There is no agreement on the electoral college to be used to date. Primary elections did not take place. As an aspirant, I was never informed that there would be primaries on May 11.
“What I was told by the secretary general and administrative secretary was that a team would go to verify areas of the Electoral College and areas on May 10, not primaries on May 11.”
Dzonzi then asked Mumba to explain why he called the electoral college used on May 11 as bogus to which the minister said at a January 17 meeting, the constituency committee submitted verified electoral college to the district office which was forwarded to the regional office.
“Over 70 percent of the electoral college from 2018 had been omitted, and that some people appearing on the list were not members of the party,” said Mumba.
Taking his turn, constituency chairperson Whyton Shaba, during the cros- examination, said he was forced to sign the books containing the electoral college used on May 11 before verification by North-South regional chairperson Joseph Chavula.
MCP Euthini district secretary Mathews Shaba added that if the team on May 10 had done the verification, the matter would have been resolved.
Mumba is being represented by lawyer Khumbo Soko who said in an interview later that their case was strong because NEC cannot impose an electoral college on voters at constituency level.
Dzonzi refused to grant interviews while lawyers Debwe and Chimowa left the court early, saying the environment was not safe for them, owing to many MCP supporters at the court.
The case will proceed today before presiding Judge Justus Kishindo and Soko will be cross-examining MCP first deputy secretary general Gerald Kazembe and Mkandawire.
