Peter Mutharika angers DPP north ‘old’ guard
Unelected DPP flag bearer for the 2014 general polls Peter Arthur Mutharika has stirred a hornet nest over remarks he made during his impromptu maiden rally in Mzuzu when he suggested that DPP will field young men and women in all the 33 constituencies in the north.
According to some DPP officials who spoke to Nyasa Times on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, Peter’s proposal meant that DPP did not want the ‘old guard’ in its rank and file.
“Why does he want to be President of Malawi when he is closer in age to his brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika,” one of the DPP official quizzed.
Paradoxically, Peter is a septuagenarian.
“This is very unfortunate because it’s people in the constituencies who chose whoever should represent them in Parliament and not the party. This shows lack of intra-party democracy,” another official said.
The DPP presidential candidate said Malawi has many intelligent youths who could serve very well as MPs.
To demonstrate his point, Mutharika called to the podium, Mzimba Solola MP Godfrey Mwanza to address the rally for two minutes. But Mwanza went up to seven minutes with nothing substantive in his tirade except the usual praises on DPP leadership including Peter.
“His definition of intelligence is obscure and narrow,” one said.
But the officials, who said they are going to closely watch Peter’s pronouncements on party matters, said they will quit the DPP if such denigrating utterances continue.
