Former cabinet minister and civil society activist Timothy Mtambo says he was motivated to hold mass demonstrations in 2019 because he was convinced that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rigged the 2019 presidential elections.
Mtambo made the remarks yesterday in an interview with Zodiak Television.
Mtambo in 2019 led anti-government protests for months against the Peter Mutharika administration and the results of the 2019 presidential elections.
In 2020, the High Court and later the Supreme Court of Appeal nullified the elections and ordered fresh presidential elections which saw Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) being elected.
Speaking in a program broadcast on Monday, Mtambo said the electoral injustice of 2019 motivated him and the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) which he was chairing at the time to lead demonstrations against the DPP.
“I have no regrets about leading the electoral struggle. I thank God that what we were saying happened and the courts agreed with us and we won because the elections were nullified,” said Mtambo.
Mtambo, who left the civil society after the fresh elections and was appointed as Minister of National Unity in President Lazarus Chakwera’s first cabinet, rejected claims that the ministerial post was a token of appreciation for leading anti-DPP demonstrations.
According to Mtambo, no one sent him to fight electoral injustice but he was driven by his love for Malawi.
He claimed that the role he left in the civil society was bigger than a ministerial position but he gave up the bigger role to join politics because he had noticed that Malawi needed a political solution in order to remove the DPP government.
“The DPP government became beyond redemption and the solution was that the DPP had to come out of government. That is why I transformed myself from civil society to a political platform to help these guys [Tonse Alliance] win the fresh elections,” said Mtambo.
During the interview, Mtambo who was fired by President Lazarus Chakwera in January last year stated he is not bitter at being removed from Chakwera’s cabinet.
He also defended Chakwera, saying his administration has grappled with unprecedented issues such as the impact of Covid-19, cyclone and the Ukraine-Russia war.
“People in Malawi are struggling. Youths have no jobs, people are suffering and the economy is not improving.
“But I believe that the struggles we are outcomes of a long term of failed state and failed leaders,” said Mtambo.
