…u-turn after Chakwera fired Kabwila and company in 2016.
The ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) political amnesia should worry Malawians, as after being a master of expulsions of its internal critics, President Lazarus Chakwera’s party has thrown a shocker condemning former ruling DPP for expelling its senior members.
In September 2016, Chakwera fired his critics who included former publicity secretary Jessie Kabwila and others. Chakwera personally told Malawi media at that time that his National Executive Committee (NEC) expelled them because it had conclusive information that they were the cause of confusion within its ranks.
Others fired and justified by Chakwera were then second deputy director for strategic planning and forner member of Parliament (MP) for Salima Central Felix Jumbe and former Lilongwe Mapuyu South MP Joseph Njobvuyalema.
The MCP firing spree six years ago did not spare Lyton Dzombe who once contested against Chakwera at the 2013 convention, Chatinkha Chidzanja-Nkhoma, Dennis Nanthumba, a Gwazantini and Isaac Jere.
Chakwera was quoted in the media saying the NEC was satisfied by a report from the Salima Central constituency committee indicating that Jumbe’s actions were contrary to the party’s doctrines and bringing confusion at the grassroots level.
Unlike the DPP, MCP suspended Kabwila and Njobvuyalema before they were heard, accusing them of being masterminders of attempted bombing of the party headquarters.
The DPP officials appeared before the partys disciplinary committee on 6th January, 2024.
“Looking at the gravity of the allegation, NEC decided to suspend the two while subjecting them to a disciplinary process managed by a disciplinary committee that was constituted by NEC with effect from August 31 2016,” Chakwera said at a news conference.
Chakwera was further quoted saying: “The party at the grassroots has complained about their actions for too long. I know some have accused me of not listening to other people’s views. If I had done so, this action would have been taken a long time ago.”
In a turn of events, the MCP says the DPP action against its Mulanje Central MP and Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa and others is “undemocratic” and a display of high sense of “intolerance.”
MCP Publicity Secretary Ezekiel Ching’oma released a highly unusual statement effectively telling the opposition DPP how to run its affairs and not to expel its members.
The party said it was “disturbed” with the events in the DPP saying it undermines the principles of democracy Malawi enjoys and those that the DPP was founded upon.
A political analyst said the MCP display of “political amnesia” is well documented and that they lack convincing narrative to jump into other peoples matters when they have a long list of expelled members.
“They quickly forget what they say or do today by sunrise tommorrow. To a certain extent they are telling Malawians the DPP is supposed to be a democratic party, on the other hand they are not clear what they want the DPP to do, forgive Nankhumwa. Their statement reflects their political capacity,” he said.
The Investigator Magazine Political Editor Precious Phiri noted that the statement was “misplaced” as it amplified DPP anti-Nankhumwa sentiments that he was being sponsored by the MCP to destabilise it.
“A bit of amateurish politics, childish politics. The just finished Nankhumwa’s political career, because everyone now will think they sent him. The MCP needs to exorcise its spirit of forgetting quickly what they did or promised yesterday. It is worrying trend,” he said.
The DPP fired Nankhumwa alongside Former Secretary General Gleseder Jeffrey, former Women’s Director Cecilia Chazama, Mwanza Central MP Nicholas Dausi and MP for Zomba Chisi Mark Botomani. Other well known personality fired is Ken Nsonda.
