AFORD members ‘delighted’ with resignation of Dindi
Many members of Malawi’s opposition Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) across the country have welcome the resignation of their party’s president Dindi Gowa Nyasulu , Nyasa Times has established.
Nyasulu who had been running the party since the death of its founder Thom Chakufwa Chihana announced his resignation late last week, making a surprise to most supporters who expected him to contest for the same position during the party’s long awaited convention whose date is yet to be announced.
“It’s true that most members of the AFORD are happy with the resignation of Nyasulu because they feel he was weakening the party”, says the party’s Publicity Secretary Dan Msowoya.
Msowoya says the members were also accusing their president and other top leaders of being greedy and selfish because of prioritizing their personal interests instead of serving the party.
He cited mismanagement of funds by Nyasulu as one of issues that forced party members to start hating him.
“While some of us feel sorry for the development because Nyasulu helped to maintain the party, many are celebrating because they feel he was oppressing them financially, he wanted everything to be in his pocket”, Msowoya said.
Several members of AFORD in the northern region which is the base of the party have been flocking to Joyce Banda’s Peoples Party, citing poor leadership in the party.
Nyasulu who is a contractor had during the administration of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regime been under attack by his party members for supporting DPP through underground campaign to win contracts from government an allegation he vehemently denied.
Reports reaching Nyasa Times indicate that party members are conducting underground campaign against voting for their Chairman Enock Kamzingeni Chihana as the party’s president during the convention, claiming he want to sell the party to the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF).
Senior party officials who declined to be named confided in the Nyasa Times that Chihana has been earmarked as the UDF Atupele Muluzi’s running mate in the 2014 elections.
The official cited a statement Chihana made during the Tumbuka’s Gonapamuhanya cultural ceremony at the Paramount Chief Chikuramayembe headquarters in Rumphi recently, that AFORD will not feature a presidential candidate in 2014 and that it will support government as a set back to the party members.
“That statement clearly indicate that he has no future for the party hence we won’t vote for him as President, we better choose a person who can boost the party”, he said.
However Msowoya declined to comment on the matter while maintaining that being democratic party members have the right to express their views.
AFORD became a force to reckon with in the 1994 general elections when it occupied almost all constituencies in the north region. But it began to shrink soon after its founder Chihana started moving from one party to the other.
It is now remaining with two parliamentarians, Nkhwauli Msiska of Karonga Nyungwe and Enock Chihana who won the Rumphi central by election last year.
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