Plot to frustrate Chakwera with ‘dirty money’ story flops: Malawi Congress Party
Dust is refusing to settle over the August 9 Malawi Congress Party (MCP) indaba with a new revelation that the party’s out-going president John Tembo and the convention’s organizing chairperson Joseph Njobvuyalema schemed to frustrate Reverend Lazarus Chakwera’s ambitions to run for the MCP presidency by getting his “dirty money” story to the media, Nyasa Times has established.
“They wanted to get Chakwera arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB),” said the source who did not want to be mentioned for fear of reprisals.
Lazarus Chakwera–former president of the Malawi Assemblies of God–is one of the 12 people who have expressed interest to lead MCP in next year’s tripartite elections.
He has been publicly criticized by Tembo for donating K600 000 towards the indaba since “he is not in the fundraising committee.”
But the Nyasa Times understands that by going public Tembo wanted to frustrate Chakwera–who is arguably one of the strongest contenders at the convention– so that the oldest Malawian legislator makes it for the MCP presidency yet again without difficulties.
“They wanted that while he [Chakwera] is busy with the corruption case, the convention should take place and JZU [Tembo] should sail through,” a source said.
According to another source who collaborated the story, Njobvuyalema–allegedly in support of Tembo–already approached the ACB so that it could get Chakwera arrested but the later rejected the suggestion because of lack of evidence.
“They started pressurizing Chatinkha [Chidzanja Nkhoma] to bring back the money so they could tender it as evidence but the plot failed,” said the source.
But speaking during Tiuzeni Zoona program on the privately owned Zodiak Broadcasting Station on Sunday, Tembo denied having rejected Chakwera’s money with evil motive.
“I rejected the money from Chakwera not because I had any grudges against him but because he donated the money at wrong time,” explained the MCP incumbent president.
“ He couldn’t have donated the money just a day a before the National Executive Committee make a ruling on issues concerning candidates while himself was a candidate, that was corruption,” said Tembo.
Tembo also said he refused the money because Chakwera gave him cash when he could have written a cheque and give it to the accounts department responsible for the convention.
“I feared that if I had taken the money they would have started saying that I have shared it with my wife but I thought it wise that the money meant to support the party should to go through the accounts of the convention”.
Tembo said even the chiefs in the villages don’t accepts an offer of a goat that come before they make judgment on the case saying if they do so, it means bribery.
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