DPP back in court over new appointments
As infighting continues rocking the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the High Court in Lilongwe has set next Tuesday to hear an application in which two senior party members are challenging their redeployment.
The party’s vice-president for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa and director of women Cecilia Chazama are challenging their respective appointments to become advisers to the party’s president Peter Mutharika.
Their removal came three days after Mutharika also appointed party secretary general Grezelder Jeffrey as vice-president for the Central Region, and replaced her with Clement Mwale.
Nankhumwa was replaced by George Chaponda while Mary Navicha took over from Chazama as the party’s new director of women.
While Jeffrey already challenged her replacement, Nankhumwa and Chazama have also gone to court seeking an order to restrain Mutharika and the party from removing them or interfering with exercise of powers and functions of the vice-president and director of women.
The two also want the court to nullify proceedings and resolutions Mutharika, Mwale and the party made during a national governing council (NGC) meeting held in Mangochi on Wednesday.
Finally, Nankhumwa and Chazama want the court to stop Mwale from exercising the powers and functions of the secretary general of DPP as well as stop Mutharika and the party from recognising Mwale as secretary general.
This is coming at a time various DPP factions are already in court following a sequence of proceedings on different issues mostly relating to positions and operations of the erstwhile ruling party.
The rift in the 18-year old political party, which has ruled the country on two different occasions, came to light in August 2020 when Jeffrey first called for a convention.
Political and governance analysts have warned that DPP’s continued infighting threatens to completely disintegrate the party and have urged Mutharika to take decisive action.
