…Ex-SG, Finance Minister ordinary MCP members
..New boss accused of terminating potential rivals
Former Malawi Congress Party (MCP) strongman Eisenhower Mkaka had been reduced to an ordinary member in one of most unusual political decisions his supporters charge is to pave way for his successor Richard Chimwendo Banda ambition to lead the party by 2030.
The newly released National Executive Committee has incorporated vice presidential contestants such as Vitumbiko Mumba and Homeland Security Minister Ken Zikhale Ng’oma as members while for the Secretary General two key rivals are missing.
Political tradition has been senior members that have lost their posts are incorporated into the party structures to ensure institutional memory and continuity, though in Malawi is mainly done as an appeasement to avoid them defected.
Mkaka was number two in the party hierarchy for years and being dumped as a backbencher parliamentarian without a say in the new NEC is highly unusual and signs of rivalry have already started emerging with rumour mills exchanging salvos against each other.
Clearing the rivals
President Lazarus Chakwera is serving his last term as a leader of the party and should he win in 2025 for the country, which opens the MCP presidential race for anyone who wants to run.
Mkaka was considered among the core team of likely members who could have had a shot at the party leadership and completely removing him from NEC denies him a platform to articulate and connect with the party structures.
“He has removed everyone who is strong, including Mkaka, Simplex Chityhola Banda (Finance Minister) Ken Kandodo, Lobin Lowe Peter Dimba and everyone he deems potential rival. He got the power, and now he is abusing it. Some of his loyalists didn’t even pay nomination fees but they have been included in the NEC,” said a senior official aligned to one of the losing candidates.
Chimwendo Banda gained an upper hand during the just-ended convention when the camp he was associated with won all key positions. He was tasked with filling in extra deputies and NEC members who had not been elected during the party convention.
The party leader is largely seen as politically weak. The party was said to have been in the hands of Mkaka, but this has now been transferred to Chimwendo Banda, who holds four public positions.
From conventions to regions, parliament and cabinet
The post-convention battles in the MCP are now moving to regional committees, parliament and potentially cabinet, with the three or four camps ganging up against Chimwendo Banda to weaken him at lower structures of the party and have him removed from Leader of the House and Cabinet positions.
Regional Chairmen and their committees are traditionally strong in the MCP. After the convention, committee elections are next, and rivals are already trying to influence outcomes in preparation for parliamentary primary elections.
Zebron Chilondola, who backed Chithyola Banda at the convention, is said to have already made his peace with Chimwendo Banda to avoid competition, but it is not clear if the Mkaka camp won’t feature a candidate to try and regain control of the MCP’s strongest base.
Mumba is thought to control the North-South region, while another vice-presidential aspirant, Kezzie Msukwa, controls the North-North. Abida Mia, who sneaked in after suggestions that there were too many women at the top were quashed, is thought to control the Southern Region.
The Eastern and Lake Shore regions are open areas where Chimwendo Banda could attempt to assert his team.
Most Chimwendo Banda rivals now claim he will target them for their parliamentary seats during the party primary elections, which must occur before nominations are received by the Malawi Electoral Commission in mid-2025.
“He is encouraging newcomers to run in our constituencies, now he will try to get rid of everyone who thinks he can stop his presidential ambition,” charged another official.
Parliamentarians and senior officials are now asking President Chakwera to relieve Chimwendo Banda of his position as Leader of Government Business (Leader of the House) in Parliament and as a Cabinet Minister.
“He can’t have two powerful positions and balance it, the President recalled Mkaka from Cabinet to MCP headquarters; we expect the same standard on Chimwendo Banda. He can’t have two powerful positions in party and parliament it will affect parliament,” said an MP aligned to one of the losers.
Mkaka was fired from Cabinet after allegations of having received a Mercedes Benz from businessman Zuneth Sattar emerged and has not been prosecuted since then.
Reports of Chimwendo Banda being fired from the cabinet have been rife before, but none has come to pass, and with his new power, it is unlikely that Chakwera would remove him from any of the current positions. The President rarely acts on anything.
Secretary-General, just like Vice President, is poisoned Chalice
Despite Chimwendo Banda’s seemingly powerful position in the party now, politically, that could be the furthest up he can go as only Gwanda Chakuamba served as Secretary Generals of the MCP and had a chance later to rise to party leadership. The rest of the Secretary Generals end up taming fires just like Vice Presidents post holders.
Chimwendo Banda is already accused of sidelining Lilongwe gurus who include Mkaka, Lowe and former National Publicity Secretary Ezekiel Ching’oma, while in Dedza is said to have taken non-resident officials such as Martha Kwataine and Alekeni Menyani over strong parliamentarians.
In Kasungu, Chimwendo Banda is accused of deliberately leaving Kamuzu Banda’s nephew Ken Kandodo and Chithyola, which has led to the suggestion that he is running the “Dowa Central Executive Committee.”
Chimwendo Banda might have wanted to learn the art of war by keeping his “political enemies closer” as they could regroup quickly and send him into collision with the party president, as they did with former Secretary Generals.
He needs the Central Region to stomp his authority. He will definitely need Lilongwe, Kasungu and Dedza to survive. Perhaps, leaving out the big names was a political mistake, he could have waited that they fall during elections- out of parliament, out of resources.
Otherwise, the battle for real control of the MCP has begun, and President Chakwera is a spectator.
