Aford centre falls to Mwenifumbo, extends olive branch to Chihana

Alliance for Democracy (Aford) central region committee has on Tuesday endorsed Karonga Central member of Parliament (MP) Frank Mwenifumbo as its leader and subsquent presidential candidate for the 2019 presidential.

Aford Central Region members backing a Mwenifumbo leadership
Aford Central Region members backing a Mwenifumbo leadership

At a news conference at party headquarters in Area 49 in Lilongwe, party regional chairman for the centre Nicholas Kamoto said Enoch Chihana should step down and hand party issues to Mwenifumbo.

“The northern region committee has rallied behind Honourable Mwenifumbo so too the southern region committee,” said Kamoto flanked by all the nine district chairmen from the centre.

Kamoto trashed as untrue reports that Mwenifumbo was dangling bags of money to members rally behind him, arguing Mwenifumbo has the leadeship attributes that can bring the party to its lost glory.

In a telephone interview, Mwenifumbo extended an olive branch to Chihana asking to bury hatchets and rebuild the party together.

Chihana camp spokesperson Khumbo Mwaungulu described the press conference as sham and illegal.

Mwenifumbo, who won his parliamentary seat as an independent in the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections, rejoined Aford in May 2017 amid suggestions that he was a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) plant to destabilise Aford.

Chihana, who is also Rumphi Central MP, has vowed not to allow Mwenifumbo’s political coup.

Newspaper columnist Suzgho Khunga states that a party that went from contributing 36 Members of Parliament to the National Assembly in 1994 to just one in 2014 does not inspire confidence as a government-in-waiting.

The Northern Region is certainly not any political party’s playground and Aford plus the numerous regional parties that have come and gone learnt this the hard way, she pointed out.

Aford was the party that laid the foundation for multiparty rule and democracy in Malawi starting out as an underground political movement by exiled Malawians, among them, late Chakufwa Chihana the hero of multiparty democracy.

 

 

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