Who says history cannot repeat itself does not remember how the rebellion of Saulos Chilima led to the results of Concourt faulty rulings that led to MCP taking power in Malawi once again.
On 21 July 2018, Saulos Chilima launched his transformation movement called United Transformation Movement (UTM) towards formation of his political party to contest in May 2019 elections. On 1 February 2019 Chilima’s UTM held meetings with two other political parties and an alliance of smaller political parties aimed at forming a united opposition.
The other parties to the discussion were the Alliance for Democracy (Aford), former Malawi President Joyce Banda’s Peoples Party, and the Tikonze People’s Movement led by former Vice President Cassim Chilumpha. They agreed to field one presidential candidate for the May 2019 elections. Both Joyce Banda and Cassim Chilumpha later withdrew from the alliance citing “disagreement with the selection of a presidential running mate for the candidate of the upcoming election” as their reason.
In the 2019 Malawian general election that was later nullified, Chilima alongside Dr Michael Usi as a running mate came third with 20.24% of the popular vote and United Transformation Movement won four seats in the National Assembly. The presidential election of 2019 was held again in 2020.
Now showing a lot of disdain for Peter Mutharika, Nankhumwa is following the same destructive path that will not win him the Presidency but guarantee the second loss of the DPP.
Earlier last year, in a move that set the political field ablaze, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)took the drastic step of expelling one of its key figures, lawmaker Kondwani Nankhumwa. This decision emerged in the wake of Nankhumwa’s plea to the party to refrain from interfering with the delegate list, a sensitive subject that has the potential to alter the trajectory and leadership of the party.
The Controversy Unfolds
Nankhumwa, who served as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and the de-jure Vice President of the DPP, expressed deep disappointment over the party’s decision to remove long-standing members. He labelled the move as illogical, asserting that the party’s leadership has been operating beyond the expiration of their tenures. However, the ‘Madala team,’ led by George Chaponda, denied any intentions of ousting leaders and refuted Nankhumwa’s allegations, instead accusing him of repeatedly dragging the party to court.
A Political Tug of War
Amid the turbulence, Nankhumwa announced his intention to compete against anyone vying for the position of the leader of the opposition, a move that the DPP promptly rebuffed. The DPP spokesperson accused the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) of sponsoring Nankhumwa to create discord within the party, a claim vehemently denied by Nankhumwa and the MCP. The DPP’s Vice President, Dr. George Chaponda, assured party members that no leader would be dismissed from their posts, a statement that now appears contradictory following Nankhumwa’s expulsion.
The Battle Over Delegates
The issue of delegate selection lies at the heart of the DPP’s internal strife. Nankhumwa warned the Peter Mutharika faction of the party against tampering with delegates ahead of the convention. His warning comes amid reports of the party undergoing restructuring at the grassroots level under Mutharika’s leadership. Nankhumwa, however, has threatened legal action should the faction persist with their plans, and has urged party ranks to maintain the delegate list from the party’s last convention in 2018. So, it continued this year
