Khumbo should lead PP—Ngwira

Reinstated People’s Party (PP) provincial chairperson (North) the Reverend Christopher Ngwira says he does not regret endorsing former vice-president Khumbo Kachali to lead the party in the absence of Joyce Banda.

Ngwira says he still stands by his declaration.

Ngwira was suspended after he and others declared Kachali PP caretaker leader to help rebuild the party in Banda’s absence.

During a PP provincial meeting in Mzuzu on Sunday, Ngwira said the suspension has not moved him in any way and that he still holds the view that Kachali should be interim leader.

He said: “I will not retreat nor surrender. I will not reverse my opinion because my opinion is genuine.”

Kachali and PP secretary general Ibrahim Matola could not be reached for comment.

But PP spokesperson and administrative secretary Ken Msonda on Monday said the party already handled the issue of Kachali and does not want to discuss it anymore.

He said the party is not lacking anything and it is comfortable with its leadership.

“Have we ever complained to you that we are facing problems? The leadership of the party is intact and as a party we are not complaining,” said Msonda.

Commenting on the developments, Mustaffa Hussein, a political scientist at the University of Malawi’s Chancellor College in Zomba, said in the long run, it is not healthy for PP to be running with its president outside the country.

He said for a party to run properly, there is need for direction, interaction and visibility on the part of the leader which is not the case at the moment.

PP was ousted from power during the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections that ushered in its bitter rival Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) led by President Peter Mutharika. PP won 26 seats in the 193-seat National Assembly. n