Chithyola ‘not fit’ to lead opposition, claims MCP’s Major as Chakwera’s inner circle comes under fire”

A fierce leadership battle has erupted at the heart of Malawi’s opposition MCP, after party heavyweight Alex Major launched a blistering broadside against former president Lazarus Chakwera’s closest allies — branding Simplex Chithyola Banda and other confidants “opportunists” more interested in clinging to power than genuinely serving the party.

Major wasted no time declaring his own leadership ambitions, warning bluntly that the race to succeed Chakwera as MCP president has already begun and that he refuses to be written off.

“If Chakwera is confident in his support, he should publicly declare his intention to contest, that would show courage. Until he does, doubts about his plans will continue,” Major said, throwing down the gauntlet to the former president to come clean about his political future.

But it was his attack on Chithyola Banda’s appointment as Leader of Opposition that landed the most damaging blow, with Major insisting the role should never have gone to him in the first place.

“I’ve previously criticised the choice of Chithyola Banda as Leader of Opposition, saying Gotani Hara deserved it as the more senior MP, the same principle Chakwera benefited from earlier in his own career,” Major fumed, exposing what he clearly views as a glaring double standard at the heart of Chakwera’s decision-making.

Major went further still, taking direct aim at the wider circle of allies gathered around Chakwera’s Area 10 residence, naming Chithyola Banda alongside Hon Nangozo, Jessy Kabwila,  Henri Mumba and Jean Sendeza as figures he views with deep suspicion.

“I also caution those advising him at his Area 10 residence… whom I see as opportunists tied to his political survival,” he warned pointedly, suggesting the group’s loyalty stems from self-preservation rather than genuine conviction.

In a withering assessment of Chakwera’s presidency, Major accused the party’s inner circle of misleading their leader in the run-up to the devastating 2025 election defeat, warning that those now pushing for his political comeback are “the same people who falsely assured him things were fine” before disaster struck at the polls.

He delivered a particularly damning observation about Chakwera’s apparent change of heart since losing power, revealing that the former president visited MCP headquarters just three times during his entire five years as President — yet now makes the trip twice a week, alongside a fresh round of funeral and church visits apologising to supporters he once seemingly neglected.

“MCP has plenty of capable leaders beyond Chakwera and we’re ready to move forward with new leadership,” Major declared defiantly, making clear his belief that the party’s future lies far beyond its former president and his inner circle.

He also issued a stark warning against any attempt to rewrite the party’s constitution to extend Chakwera’s grip on power, insisting such a move “won’t succeed” and urging the former leader to instead “retire with dignity” — while personally pledging his own support for Chakwera as a former president, provided he steps aside gracefully.

Major didn’t spare Chakwera’s judgment either, suggesting the former president had repeatedly placed his trust in the wrong people, including Sean Kampondeni, leaving many civil servants feeling badly let down.

In his most damning verdict of all, Major suggested history itself may ultimately deliver a harsh judgment on Chakwera’s leadership.

“In my view, MCP lost the government due to self centredness, arrogance and a manufactured image of moral superiority. History may ultimately judge him as the weakest of MCP’s four presidents,” Major concluded.