Political violence in all its forms and by whosoever could be behind it should be condemned in the strongest terms possible. This is especially so as the country is preparing for the General Elections on September 16 2025. Authorities should ensure that they swiftly, comprehensively, fearlessly and impartially deal with anyone found incit ing political violence. Violence has the potential to create chaos and mar the elections.
This is the reason why the unfortunate remarks the Democratic Progressive Par ty (DPP) regional governor for the Eastern Region, Daud Chikwanje, deserves nothing but to be condemned and held in high disdain.
I have heard some people defending Chikwanje for his divisive remarks which urged people in the region to set ablaze anyone wearing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) regalia simply because previous violence on DPP members allegedly incited by MCP supporters in Lilongwe went unpunished. Hear this. The violence Chikwanje was fomenting cannot be justified on the basis that a similar incident by another political party was allegedly not punished.
If you break the law, you are punished by what the law says and not whether or not someone who committed a similar offence was punished. So the law should be fully applied on Chikwanje. Just as the same law has also to be swiftly and fearlessly used and applied on suspects who pelted the Presidential convoy three weeks ago in Chikwawa.
To show that DPP does not condone and subscribe to acts of violence, it should also condemn and discipline Chikwanje, and warn its members and supporters against such barbaric conduct. Unfortunately, the party had not done this by press time on Thursday.
This is the reason I want to commend former president Bakili Muluzi for taking exception to United Democratic Front (UDF) cadres who were against the idea that the party should invite MCP officials to the yellow party’s elective conference held on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
I ronically, members of all political parties represented in Parliament— UDF, MCP, DPP, PP, Aford and others—drink coffee together every time they meet. So what is special with a convention? Kudos to the former president for his maturity on the matter and hopefully some UDF members who did not fully understand the party’s stand on political tolerance now do.
But peop l e shoul d not misunderstand me. Here is the crux of the matter. Police conduct is crucial in ending political violence. As law-enforcers they ought to deal with perpetrators of violence without first considering suspects’ political colours. The police ought to be impartial and serve all Mal aw i a n s e qu a l l y. Previously and across all administrations, the police have been a big disappointment. They have not served the country well when it comes to curbing v i o l e n c e . They have behaved as if they exist solely to serve the ruling party. This is wrong. That is why political violence is still upon us.
And so, it is no brainer that violence will continue and could even get worse if the police and authorities use double standards when dealing with people who foment violence.
Let me sign off with this end piece on the UTM Party. I am astounded by the huge number of aspirants for the top leadership position. There are now five of them. They could be more. They include Michael Usi, Newton Kambala, Dalitso Kabambe, Matthews Mtumbuka and Patricia Kaliati. I hope I have not forgotten anyone.
Granted, i t is thei r inalienable right to compete for any position during the party’s elective convention slated for next month. But what does this legion of aspirants mean? Each one of them is fighting for themselves. Yet the convention will only have a limited number of delegates. The candidates will split the delegates and end up handing the presidency to someone who does not have majority votes or does not deserve the position. My understanding is that there are two main blocs in UTM: one faction led by Usi and the other one in which all the other candidates are crammed. Have they thought about this?
