Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson Jessie K abwi l a has come under fire over her remarks interpreted as mocking age and health conditions of other candidates while justifying President Lazarus Chakwera’s withdrawal from last night’s presidential debate.
Briefing journalists in Lilongwe yesterday, she said while Chakwera was personally ready to face the electorate through the debate, MCP resolved against his participation purportedly because the organisers failed to disclose the final list of participants in time.
conference. | Wycliffe Njiragoma
Kabwila said the party later discovered that the line-up included “names of persons who have never run government and whose characters are questionable and uninspiring”.
The Presidential Debate Task Force earlier indicated that participation would be restricted to presidential hopefuls
representing parties represented in the recently dissolved Parliament. The parties are MCP, Democratic Progressive Party, United Democratic Front, People’s Party and UTM Party.
During the briefing, a visibly charged Kabwila described one presidential contender as “too old” and suffering from “hearing and memory issues”, remarks that have drawn the sharpest criticism, with many observers interpreting them as trivialising dementia and promoting ageist stereotypes.
In an interview yesterday, Network of Elderly Persons Organisations executive director Andrew Kavala said the remarks raised concern beyond politics.
He said: “Such remarks promote ageist stereotypes. Kindly note that dementia is a serious medical condition that affects millions of people globally and weaponising such in political rhetoric contributes to stigma
and misinformation.”
Human Rights Consultative Committee chairperson Michael Kaiyatsa described the comments as “deeply unfortunate and regrettable”.
He said if Chakwera did not want to participate in the debate, there were more appropriate and respectful ways to communicate the decision than making fun of one’s age or alleged illness.
Meanwhile, the task force has rejected MCP’s claims on lack of consultation with chairperson Golden Matonga maintaining that the party was informed of the participants well in advance.
However, Kabwila insisted that the boycott was about credibility, not avoidance of scrutiny.
She highlighted Chakwera’s record on media freedoms, citing his involvement in World Press Freedom Day commemorations, the operationalisation of the Access to Information law, and the repealing of restrictive statutes during his tenure.
Ironically, Chakwera actively participated in the 2014 and 2019 presidential debates when he was in the opposition.
