Grouping vows to revive AFORD

A grouping under the umbrella body of ‘friends of AFORD’ has insisted that Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) will be revived and will forever live.

Speaking in an interview, chairman for the grouping in Rumphi Amos Sato said the party is still strong and has full support from the original members.

He further revealed that Rumphi will remain a stronghold of the party and people who knows the history of multiparty democracy in Malawi will forever acknowledge the contributions the party has done for the country.

“It’s not a briefcase party. If you follow politics and know where Malawi has come from, you will realise that AFORD is the father of Malawi politics. All these other parties are following our footsteps,” said Sato.

He added: “Being unpopular doesn’t mean the party is dead. In fact, the party is popular if you really follow politics.”

Sato also revealed that their committee will soon have an indaba with the party’s president Enoch Chihana to strategise so that they should compete for more parliamentary seats in the next elections.

“We are united in AFORD. Rumours that we are planning to overthrow our president are baseless. Soon we are having an indaba with him to see how we can strengthen our party,” he said.

AFORD was founded by the late Chakufwa Chihana. But since his death, the party has been facing a lot of power struggles which consequently has led to its unpopularity.

Some influential figures dumped the party and left it in the hands of Enoch who is son to the founder of the party. Enoch is currently the party’s sole parliamentarian.