Another Malawian musician joins politics: DPP
It is that season again when artists join the politics bandwagon. As election season approaches, several artists have been known to dump the trade to try their hands at the more lucrative political field.
Leading the pack this election season is musician Collins Chitimbe who has announced his intention to contest the Blantyre City South East constituency on a DPP ticket.
The musician, who has just released the ‘Tsogolo’ album, told Nyasa Times that his intention is driven by the desire to alleviate the poverty of his fellow constituents.
Over the past five years, Chitimbe has been involved in development activities in the Bangwe area which forms the heartland of the constituency.
But the musician says his involvement in the projects was not a campaign ploy.
“Of course, I have built several bridges in Bangwe and I have been involved with the Bangwe HIV Aids Selfhelp Initiative but the intention was not to contest as an MP but to solve some of the problems which I see within this area.
“I am a product of this area. I was born at Masala Village in Bangwe and I know the problems in the community. I know and understand the needs of this community.
“It makes me feel sad when I see some of the things that this community lacks. We have no banks, no proper schools, roads and hospitals. These are things that we can put up on our own without waiting for government to come in,” he said.
Chitimbe joins a long list of musicians that have traded the music stage for the political stage, key among them being Billy Kaunda, Joseph Tembo, Dr Crowd and Lucius Banda.
There have been reports in the media that rapper Tay Grin (Limbani Kalilani ) and popular musician Lawrence Mbenjere will contest for parliamentary seats.
