Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is on the verge of a chaotic intra-party conflict as few gurus in the party have influenced a resolution limiting eligibility to its National Executive Committee (NEC) to members that have served for at least two years—a move seen to be targeting Engineer Vitumbiko Mumba who is the hottest contender for the post of the vice presidency.
During its NEC meeting on Wednesday, a motion was moved, seconded and adopted which resolved that the party will only allow members to contest for NEC positions at the convention if such a member has served for at least two years.
This move, according to political and legal critics that we have spoken to, has been described as an abuse of power calculated to protect the incumbent leaders’ interests who fear that potential new leadership talent would take over.
Hot on the heels, inside sources say, is the emergence of Engineer Vitumbiko Mumba who wants to vie for the seat of vice presidency and has already gained ground across all the three regions.
Mumba is poised to compete with Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara who, according to inside sources, is barely popular among the delegates and she is likely to lose.
Additionally, Chithyola Banda has also made strong interest in contesting for the position of the secretary general currently being held by Eisenhower Mkaka.
“With Mumba’s growing popularity among the delegates—as he has been touring the country distributing motorbikes; several senior members close to Gotani Hara are worried fearing.
“Mkaka is also very worried with the competition from Chithyola Banda. What is emerging is a serious crack in the party involving old members and emerging ones,” inside sources told us.
Added the source: “What is happening is that there is a team led by Mkaka which comprises Ezekiel Ching’oma, Gotani Hara and Chimwendo as well as Kunkuyu who are very worried that they will lose their positions at the convention to these emerging ones. So, to ensure that they protect their positions, they influenced NEC meet to pass a resolution that bars emerging ones from contesting.”
Legal experts, however, have questioned why the party would make such a fundamental resolution without subjecting to the convention.”
Private practice lawyer Gladson Majekete said it would be unfortunate if the NEC’s resolution will not undergo the scrutiny of the convention before it becomes effective.
He said in an interview yesterday: “Sometimes these leaders abuse their discretion. They think they are NEC and can do whatever they want. They forget that they work within limits and the limit is their same constitution.“
“For a matter as crucial as this one, I would rather leave it to their convention to decide how to qualify the newcomers.”
Article 32 of the MCP constitution says NEC “shall make rules and regulations for the purpose of, but without limiting to, the foregoing: Providing for the control, management and regulation of regions, districts, constituencies, wards, areas and local branches…
It adds: “Providing for all matters which by this constitution, are required or permitted to be prescribed or which, in the opinion of the National Executive Committee, are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the provisions of this Constitution.”
Meanwhile, former MCP legislator for Kasungu West Alex Major, a critic of the party’s current leadership, said although he supports confining the NEC aspirants to such requirements, the resolution has to be tabled at the upcoming elective convention scheduled for this August.
“One thing I like about our party is that it is very democratic. Its strength is not in our leadership but it’s grassroots. Our leaders come and go but the party remains. I also like the fact that it embraces new comers with potential to add value.
“If Hon Njobvuyalema’s strange idea of barring our beloved President for being a newcomer then had materialized, we couldn’t have been in power,” said Major.
He added that MCP is where it is today, even to the point of winning elections, because of its policy of absorbing potential and new leadership in its fold.
“Late Sidik Mia wouldn’t have shaken the South and become our Veep because he was a newcomer.
“The current Party Veep couldn’t have been elected because he had just dumped PP then. The incumbent Treasure General who came from nowhere and dislodged Hon Chiphiko would still have been at Prime Insurance. All our 3 Secretaries General would not be eligible.
“Our Director of Strategic Planning was just 2 months in the party when we gave him that position in 2018 but today, he is our giant and so is the case with so many Directors and members,” he said.
Major emphasized that it is therefore paradoxical that a NEC full of strangers who benefited from the thriving democracy in the party would like to bar their friends from competing for NEC positions.
