IF I WERE :Kondwani Nankhumwa

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, I would accept and acknowledge that it is a fact that Saulos Chilima is the country’s Vice-President and that Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera is the Leader of Opposition in Parliament.

Thus, if I were the minister, I would have risen above petty partisan politics at the  funeral ceremony of Themba la Mathemba Chikulamayembe in Rumphi on December 4 and acknowledge the two’s presence. 

Oh yes, if I were bwana Nankhumwa, I would have earned more respect and mileage as a tolerant politician by merely acknowledging the presence of the two public figures at the ceremony.

If I were him, I would also realise that a funeral ceremony is not a place for political posturing, but rather consoling the bereaved families and celebrating the life of the deceased.

For someone delegated to speak on behalf of the President, I would realise that the ceremony provided me an opportunity to rise above petty politics. Through such a gesture, I would have demonstrated maturity and tolerance.

That is if I were Kondwani Nankhumwa. But I am not the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice-president for the South.