Nankhumwa should smell the coffee
Knowing where to stop, what is doable and what is not is very important in life and especially in politics. But such a skill requires discernment, which I am afraid to say, former Progressive Party (DPP) vice-president for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa may not have been gifted with. I have no doubt that if he had such he would have embraced his expulsion from the DPP with glee.
One thing I can guarantee is that he is out and out of DPP. It is not even an exaggeration to say his political base has somehow crumbled. Not just because of his expulsion from the party but more importantly after a score or so members of Parliament (MPs) who were sympathetic to him have deserted him.
That notwithstanding, it is also fair to say this is not the end of the road for him politically. Nankhumwa is still MP for Mulanje Central constituency until next year when he will have to seek people’s mandate to reclaim the parliamentary seat. But his fate and relevance in the country’s political space depend on how he will play his cards from now up to September 2025. The bottom line is that one should be able to see the red lights and respond accordingly; read the writings on the wall and act on them well. One should also know when to make an about-turn when the high waters are neck-high and you just can’t continue forcing yourself to traverse a path that leads to nowhere. Simply put, one should smell the coffee.
When DPP members were jubilating over Nankhumwa’s expulsion from the party alongside other DPP members, what did he think the excitement was for? More fundamentally, it was for the fact that his political wings had been well and truly clipped and he was now set to roll down the hill. One of the most hurtful stings in the expulsion from the party is that he will not continue to be the Leader of Opposition (LoP). On that one, I can guarantee.
It is not rocket science. From the cluster of all backbenchers in Parliament, LoP comes from the main opposition political party represented in the House. But by default, Nankhumwa is now an Independent legislator. So anytime DPP presses the reset button to remove the LoP honours from him, the clever thing for him to do is not to fight against the move but to gracefully bow out. Anything to the contrary will just be kicks of a dying horse.
And for all the bashing that former president Peter Mutharika (APM) has endured that he is too slow to act on crucial issues concerning the DPP, the man has been more than patient with Nankhumwa and all those who were in his faction. Who knew of the overarching powers that Article 10 (8) and 10 (9) of the DPP Constitution read with Article 6 (Code of Ethics and Conduct) give the party’s president? Article 10 (8) says:
“The President shall have powers to assign a member of the National Governing Council to any public or political office. Unless otherwise directed by the President, a member so assigned or so appointed shall cease to hold his original office or to exercise or to perform the functions of that original office in the National Governing Council.”
Article 10 (9) says: “A member of the National Governing Council may be removed from his or her position by the Central Committee upon the recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee.”
These provisions have all along been in the DPP Constitution, and APM was at liberty to invoke them at any material time. But he did not. Unfortunately, it looks to me Nankhumwa who DPP says has sued the party 17 times in the past three years, and put the party in disrepute, took APM’s patience for granted. DPP sees this as a wanton breach of the party’s Code of Ethics and Conduct as provided for in Article 10. Now APM has the last laugh.
Following his ejection from the party, Nankhumwa will not even be at the DPP convention where he would have challenged APM for the position of party president. There at the convention he would have tested his influence and popularity within the rank and file of the party members. Now he has to wait for September 2025 to do that whether as an independent presidential candidate or for another political party.
Not even efforts to put a cap on the age of presidential candidates will change Nankhumwa’s fate. A bill to stop APM from appearing on the ballot paper in 2025 on account of his age will be ill-timed. Laws should not be made with certain individuals in mind. Let voters choose who they want to lead them.
For now, we can conclude without fear of contradiction, that taking APM’s patience for granted has boomeranged big time on Nankhumwa. However, knowing who he is, the battle for honours between him and APM will go down to the wire.
