Chaponda, Nankhumwa battle for power in DPP: Last kicks of a confused horse

History is littered with a billion plus one examples of people who were persecuted for doing good to societies and mankind. So many people around the world have suffered for trying to do the right things.  A very good case in point is the biblical Jesus, the son of God, who humbled himself to descend into this world, and to live among ordinary men in pursuit of a noble mission to save mankind only to be mocked and killed.

His own kith and kin misunderstood him; they mocked him, pelted him with stones; hanged him on a cross and finally killed him. It is only now, 2000 years later that we are beginning to realize the scope of his ministry and what superhuman he was.

Today, we also have remnants of this altruistic breed of people. People who have dedicated their lives to the service of their nation; people whose only single minded purpose is to see that this nation emerged into the one that we all want it to be, and one that has a responsive government that truly panders to the dictates of those who voted it into power.

Kondwani Nankhumwa, the youthful and sure-fire Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s government is slowly standing up to be counted. He is turning out to be a rare breed of intelligent, hardworking and foresighted lieutenant in President Peter Mutharika’s cabinet and one to look out for.

Like any hardworking steward working for transformational leadership, Nankhumwa’s hardworking spirit did not escape the eye of his boss, President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika.  It is no wonder that he has been entrusted with more responsibilities such as the position of Director of Elections in the DPP, and more recently the position of Leader of House in Parliament.

Like biblical Jesus, it appears this is also the reason why Nankhumwa is increasingly becoming the centre of envy among some of his compatriots within the DPP, most notably the man that he replaced as leader of House in Parliament, Dr. George Chaponda.

Despite the fact that it was President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika who personally made the decision to fire Dr. George Chaponda from the portfolio of Agriculture because for his involvement in the MAIZEGATE scandal, and also to remove him as Leader of House in Parliament, it appears Chaponda is directing his bitterness towards Kondwani Nankhumwa  as though it was him who fired him. In fact, he is beginning to be silly about it.

It is not long ago when we learnt that the former Minister of Agriculture had hired 15 journalists from different media houses to help clean up his image in light of the MAIZEGATE scandal. Dr. Chaponda has been harbouring presidential ambitions and hopes (wildly) that his panel of15 journos will help put his now dead presidential ambitions back on track.

Part of that wild strategy is to go on a mudslinging offensive, especially on individuals deemed close to President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika. The aim is to create false stories aimed at deliberately putting Nankhumwa on a collision course with President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika to crowd the President’s mind with serious falsehood so that he starts looking at Nankhumwa in negative light.

Part of this falsehood alleges that Nankhumwa has become so powerful in Mutharika’s cabinet and that he is positioning himself for the DPP presidency in 2024. It also alleges that Nankhumwa is responsible for sidelining Vice President, Saulos Chilima, in the by-elections campaigns to take place on Tuesday, October 17 in Lilongwe and Nsanje districts.

What these 15 journalists will not mention is the fact that it was actually their boss, Dr. George Chaponda who fed President Arthur Peter Mutharika with lies that Saulos Chilima did nothing in the Mchinji by-election. They will not mention that it was actually him (Chaponda) who did DPP disservice by helping an MCP candidate with materials and money to win the elections. It was Chaponda who failed his own party – the DPP.

All along it has also been Chaponda who was responsible for the tension between President Peter Mutharika and his Vice President by churning out falsehood that Chilima is engaged insubordination and yet Mutharika loves the Vice President like his own son.  He knows Chilima is an asset to the DPP; he commands respect among Catholics and is well respected by the business community plus the youths of this country.

Chaponda and his army of strategists should have begun by comprehensively cleaning his image which continues to be soiled by sandal after scandal. For example, the strategy should have spelled out the framework  for clearing allegation that he arranged the  fire that blazed the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters at Capitol Hill.  Does the strategy have in place a framework to clear the running story of ‘corruption millions’ being found in his bedroom? How about the recent fire at ACB?

In the end, the 7 lawyers and 15 journalists will not be enough to clear a name dented by massive corruption and furious underhand practices.  Chaponda’s strategy to clear his name will likely drag Mutharika’s name through mud.  President Arthur Peter Mutharika is noble gentleman whose single focus is to uplift the social status of Malawians through the provision of transformational leadership. The last thing that he needs is to be distracted from that from that noble quest by senseless in-fighting within the DPP based on misplaced ambitions.

• EDITOR’S NOTE: The views expressed here are solely the opinions of the author and not the position of Nyasa Times

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