JB won’t come to Mutharika’s inauguration: Motorcade withdrawn, told to vacate State House
Outgoing president Joyce Banda will not be able to participate in new Malawi President, Peter Mutharika’s inauguration on Monday as she is in Nkhatabay as her motorcade has been withdrawn, Nyasa Times learnt on Sunday
Banda will not go to the ceremony at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre because she has not been invited.
Her spokesman Tusekele Mwanyongo in an interview with Nyasa Times confirmed Banda will not be in attendance.
He said there was “no formal invitation” and that “it is not a requirement for an outgoing president to be physically available at such ceremony.”
According to her spokesman, the sword-of-command is kept by the Army Commander and will be able to hand it over to the new President.
Mwanyongo confirmed Banda was spending time at their home in Nkhatabay and had gone on private vehicles.
The new leadership has since withdrawn her presidential motorcade after ordering Chief of Staff at State House, Ben Mbewe to send the motorcade to Blantyre.
Banda has also been told to vacate official Kamuzu Palace immediately.
Mwanyongo confirmed the development but declined to comment further.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Nicholous Dausi said in a separate interview that the former president should have handed over government assets and moved out of the State House when a new president was elected.
Dausi said president occupy State House by virtue of being Head of State and that “she should have moved out after the election of a new President.”
Banda, Malawi’s first woman president, conceded defeat and congratulated Mutharika on Saturday on his “victory in a closely contested election”.
Malawians should move forward “as one nation, to remain united, to uphold the rule of law, and continue being peaceful and calm as we head into the next 50 years of Malawi’s future,” said Banda.
The former president said she was “leaving office a happy person” after winning 20.2% of the votes compared with Mutharika’s 36.4%.
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