Vice-President Michael Usi has insisted that his allegiance is to UTM Party despite his shouting ‘boma ndi lomweli’ slogan synonymous with Malawi Congress Party (MCP), a key partner in the disintegrated Tonse Alliance that UTM ditched.
In an addres s in Thambani, Mwanza District during a whistle-stop tour to mobilise eligible voters to register ahead of the September 16 2025 General Elections, the former UTM Party president uttered the phrase associated with MCP, raising questions on his allegiance.
Said Usi: “I am UTM, that’s a fact. When you have a child in marriage, when one of the spouses withdraws from the marriage, the child remains the product of the two. You cannot say that because you have withdrawn then the child does not belong to you.
“I say boma ndilomweli b e c a u s e I know I participated in the creation of this government [Tonse Alliance]. After all, I have not seen any letter from anybody [from UTM] that says they have withdrawn from the Tonse Alliance.
“What I hear are claims. Even if I see the letter, there are many technical issues to resolve. I did not mention MCP. I said boma ndilomweli, meaning the Tonse-led administration [headed by President Lazarus Chakwera].”
But in a separate interview, UTM Party spokesperson Felix Njawala said the party, which was a co-key partner with MCP at the birth of the alliance in March 2020, was no longer in the alliance.
He said the party would meet to discuss the possible consequences of Usi’s statement as it plans to go solo in the elections. He indicated UTM will also engage Usi for clarity.
Said Njawala: “We heard the sentiments he made in Mwanza, but as UTM Party, we have said it time and again that we are not in alliance with the MCP.
“A member of a political party cannot promote a president of a different political party. We will find out from the Vice-President what he actually meant.”
Commenting on the sent iments pol i t ical commentator Victor Chipofya accused Usi of confusing Malawians and advised him to quickly come out and tell Malawians his political direction.
Po l i t i c a l S c i e n c e Association president Henry Chingaipe observed that Usi is only a nominal UTM member and since his appointment as Vice- President, he has been loyal to the President.
“I cannot say whether the Vice-President has joined MCP or not but it is clear he associates with the party at least by extension of his loyalty to the President of the party. For a long time he was at the exit door of the UTM Party,” he said.
Chakwera, who leads MCP, paired with Saulos Chilima of UTM Party as his Tonse Alliance running mate in the court-sanctioned fresh presidential election that ousted former president Peter Mutharika.
Chakwera and Chilima, who finished second and third, respectively, in the disputed 2019 presidential election, petitioned the court to nullify the election over irregularities and were granted their wish.
