Take charge, APM dared

Infighting in the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) continues to intensify as power play threatens to disintegrate the erstwhile governing party, prompting analysts to urge president Peter Mutharika to take decisive action.

Yesterday, the day started with Leader of Opposition in Parliament Kondwani Nankhumwa turning down his appointment as adviser to Mutharika to pave the way for Mulanje South West legislator George Chaponda to be vice-president responsible for the South.

The DPP circus closed the day with another twist after High Court of Malawi Judge Simeon Mdeza granted an order to Blantyre City Central legislator Chipiliro Mpinganjira and others stopping embattled secretary general Grezelder Jeffrey and team from implementing resolutions made at a National Governing Council (NGC) meeting in Lilongwe last Wednesday. Mutharika and the bulk of NGC members did not attend the meeting.

Reacting to the developments, politician-cum-analyst Humphrey Mvula said the situation in DPP demands decisiveness from Mutharika.

He said: “These squabbles will not end until the party goes to a properly constituted convention. Otherwise, what will happen is that the party will divide further and reach a stage where the two factions cannot reconcile.”

Mvula said Mutharika, the country’s former president, should sober up and take charge of the party by mediating on the ongoing debacle and refrain from taking sides.

The purported NGC meeting set December 15 and 16 as dates for the party’s convention and appointed a committee to manage the process.

But the judge yesterday said the resolutions should be put on hold until a further order of the court.

Meanwhile, Nankhumwa, a DPP presidential aspirant, earlier yesterday said he was yet to receive his redeployment letter, but said his vision is to restore the DPP as an institution that promotes unity, democracy and the rule of law.

He said: “My burning desire is to restore the DPP’s lost glory. I can only realise this desire if I have the opportunity to run the affairs of the party as its president.”

Nankhumwa said the DPP currently lacks intra-party democracy, a situation he attributed to leadership challenges when compared to when its founding president the late Bingu wa Mutharika was in charge.

He said the party’s NGC meetings are expected to be held on a regular basis as per the party’s constitution, but have recently been few and far between.

“Instead, a cabal of people calling itself the inner circle has become so powerful and it is frantically attempting to take over control of the party,” said Nankhumwa who was accompanied by his wife, Gertrude, legislator for Blantyre Kabula Constituency.

He said if Mutharika is to contest at the convention, he should go as an ordinary candidate and not try to suppress other candidates by forcing them to drop their candidature.

DPP and Mutharika spokesperson Shadric Namalomba did not pick up when called on various occasions. He also did not respond to questions sent to him through WhatsApp messenger while administrative secretary Francis Mphepo could not be reached.

The party’s director of legal affairs Charles Mhango said he was in court and referred The Nation back to Namalomba.

The Nation also tried to reach out to other DPP presidential aspirants, but they could not be reached. The aspirants include former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor Dalitso Kabambe, DPP vice-president responsible for the Eastern Region Bright Msaka and Chiradzulu South legislator Joseph Mwanamveka.

On Thursday, some lawyers faulted the Nankhumwa and Jeffrey faction for calling the NGC meeting.

Private practice lawyer John Gift Mwakhwawa said even though Jeffrey stressed that the meeting was in keeping with a September 29 High Court of Malawi ruling that ordered the party to hold a convention within 90 days, her failure to follow laid-out procedures rendered the resolutions at the meeting void.

Yesterday’s court ruling comes against a background of Mutharika and team being scheduled to hold an NGC meeting tomorrow in Mangochi to discuss issues pertaining to dates of the convention.