Mulli says DPP is party for Lhomwes: Irks Lower Shire people

Advertisement
Mulli Brothers

People of the Sena and Mang’anja tribes were angered by controversial politician Leston Mulli yesterday when he claimed that the Lhomwes dominate the population in the Lower Shire but have not drummed up support for President Peter Mutharika.

Mulli made the sentiments at Bangula Secondary School. He was referring to Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) loss in the Nsanje Lalanje elections to the Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

Mulli Brothers
Leston Mulli: DPP is for Lhomwes

According to Mulli, it was quite ’embarrassing’ that the DPP lost in the area yet the ‘Lhomwe form the larger population in the area’.

“We, the Lhomwe need to support the DPP. How come we lost the polls in Lalanje when we are here in the largest numbers?” said the Mulakho wa Alhomwe leader.

It was these sentiments that irked the gathering which started to boo Mulli with notable violent scenes noted before police stabilised the anarchy.

The anger was only rising because prior to Mulli’s speech, Malawi24 understands that a Pastor who was given the role to open the ceremony with a prayer had also in his prayer claimed ‘it is the Lhomwe’s who can develop Malawi and the Lower Shire’.

People had murmured through the entire prayer until the Pastor sat down.

Most of the uproar was led by students at Bangula Secondary School.

It took the efforts of Chief Chimombo to cool people’s tempers when he called for politics of unity and not division – a thing Mulli overlooked when he took to the podium.

Analysts have previously warned the DPP to desist from treating the party as being a tribal one.

Mutharika and nearly half of his cabinet ministers are from the Lhomwe belt which springs from Chiradzulu, Mulanje, Thyolo and Phalombe districts.

Opposition parties have not stopped spitting fire over the DPP for what it says is a nepotistic type of leadership – a thing Mutharika has rubbished saying he appoints people on ‘merit’.