Usi chides UTM officials over convention dates
UTM Party president Michael Usi has faulted his party’s officials who announced the convention date of November 17 2024, saying the move has jumped the gun as the national executive committee (NEC) needs to approve the same.
Reacting to the announcement made by party publicity secretary Felix Njawala in Blantyre yesterday, Usi said in an interview that while he attended the party’s central executive committee (CEC) meetings that made recommendations regarding the convention, all the proposals made were subject to NEC approval.
He said: “So I feel like they [UTM] have rushed too much to go to the public. I did not authorise because I respect the law. NEC would ask me how have I authorised the convention date, bypassing them? So, I did not authorise the dates.”
But when contacted later, Njawala insisted that there is nothing irregular to announce the date of the convention and that CEC was only expecting NEC to meet and present the CEC resolutions. He said UTM NEC will ratify what CEC agreed.
During the briefing, Njawala, who was accompanied by secretary general Patricia Kaliati and other senior party members, said the convention dates followed two separate CEC meetings chaired by Usi in Lilongwe two week ago.
He said the convention, whose venue he did not indicate, will be held under the theme ‘SKC’s [Saulos Klaus Chilima] legacy beyond 2025: Building a future of fairness, equality and transformation’.
Njawala asked aspirants within the party to come forward and begin their campaigns.
He said: “Now is the time to rise, to speak your truth and to share your vision for our party and our nation.”
In her remarks, Kaliati advised UTM supporters to stop attending government functions because the party was no longer in the Tonse Alliance administration.
She further advised UTM Party members who want to attend a government function not to put on UTM regalia.
On whether Kaliati’s sentiments reflected the views of the party, UTM disciplinary committee chairperson Willet Kalonga said party members should put on party clothes at UTM functions only.
He threatened to deal with any party member found wearing UTM regalia at a government function.
“For instance if the Vice-President [Usi] wants to welcome the President [Lazarus Chakwera], let him go alone and welcome his boss,” said Kalonga, who is also national organising secretary.
On the other hand, UTM director of youth Penjani Kalua said the party is targeting to register two million new UTM members by December this year.
Commenting on the developments, Sainala Kalebe, a political science lecturer at Catholic University, observed that the differences were an indication that there are unresolved conflicts in UTM.
Other senior UTM members that attended the press briefing includedNewton Kambala, Richard Makondi and George Saonda.
Cracks in UTM Party emerged after the death of its leader and the country’s vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others in a plane crash on June 10 2024.
