Former President Peter Mutharika has expressed concern over the use of late former President Bingu wa Mutharika’s image on a poster belonging to Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa who is also an aspirant for the presidency of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Mutharika has released a statement today after a poster was posted on social media showing the faces of Kondwani Nankhumwa and former Malawi President and ex-leader of DPP, Bingu, with the message that power is never given without a fight.
Mutharika in the statement did not mention Nankhumwa but described the person in the wrong as an aspirant for the DPP presidency.
“The purpose of this callous action is to give the impression that the late Bingu would have endorsed this individual’s candidacy. As president and head of the DPP I am distressed by this exploitation of our departed relative. I am therefore asking the individual concerned to withdraw this poster and to never post another one.
“On behalf of my family, I am asking this individual to respect Bingu’s soul and to let him rest in peace,” Mutharika said.
The statement comes over a month after Mutharika met Nankhumwa and other DPP aspirants where they pledged allegiance to Mutharika and agreed to suspend their individual campaigns.
There have been divisions in the DPP since Mutharika’s defeat in the 2020 Presidential Elections. Some DPP members have been calling for a convention and Mutharika’s resignation.
But Mutharika has always maintained that he will only step down as DPP president in 2023, the year the party plans to hold a convention to elect his successor.
