MCP wants Kaliati fired

Opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has called for the dismissal of Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati over alleged insulting remarks she made at a public rally attacking MCP president Lazarus Chakwera.

Kaliati allegedly called Chakwera, who is also leader of opposition in Parliament, a “village idiot”, but the minister has distanced herself from the alleged insulting remarks, saying there is no way she could utter such words against the MCP leader.

During a news conference at MCP headquarters in Lilongwe yesterday, MCP publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila described Kaliati’s remarks allegedly made at a rally addressed by President Peter Mutharika in Thyolo on July 12 as “unfortunate” and falling short of public expectations placed on a minister “advocating gender equality and women [empowerment]”.

She claimed the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was using attacks of the opposition to divert public attention from critical social and economic ills affecting the country.

But in a telephone interview yesterday, Kaliati dismissed the allegations and warned MCP against dragging her into cheap dirty politics.

She challenged that she does have time for smear campaigns, saying her current focus as a politician was to fight for women’s empowerment.

Kaliati accused Kabwila of acting as if “she is still at Chancellor College” in an apparent reference to Kabwila’s fire-brand attitude when she chaired the college’s staff social welfare committee and strongly criticised the DPP administration led by former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012 over the academic freedom saga.

Said Kaliati: “After all, at the rally I spoke as the director of women affairs [in the party] and not as Minister of Gender. So, Kabwila should leave me alone!”

Meanwhile, MCP has also announced plans to hold elections for its Central Regional Committee in a drive to strengthen the party’s structures at the grass roots level in readiness for the 2019 elections.