Bishops Bvumbwe, Malasa and Sheik Chabulika face PAC suspension as mother bodies  query governance watchdog

Public Affairs Committee (Pac) mother bodies on Thursday  had a discussion with  the quasi-religious grouping’s executive committee members over  accusations that they were being militant and political  in their approach on national issues.

The mother bodies urged  PAC not to use next week’s All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference to advance any hidden political agenda.

Pac is expected to meet on Monday June 5^th two days for the ‘future of Malawi’ conference.

The governance watchdogs also plan  to suspend Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe of Evangelical Lutheran Church, Bishop for Anglican Diocese of Upper Shire, Brighton Malasa and Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) spokesperson, Sheikh Dinala Chabulika who have recently been criticizing PAC’s  executive committee.

In a meeting that took place in Blantyre on Thursday, Pac mother bodies comprising of Episcopal  Conference  of  Malawi (ECM), Muslim  Association  of  Malawi (MAM), Quadria  Muslim  Association  of  Malawi (QMAM), Malawi  Council  of  Churches (MCC)  and Evangelical  Association  of  Malawi (EAM) demanded for an early Annual General Assembly, accusing the elected executive committee of behaving like a political party.

Nyasa Times’ sources privy to the meeting revealed that tempers flared up during the discussions and that the meeting came to a stand-off over intentions to suspend the three just before the conference, with the mother bodies criticizing the executive committee chaired by Reverend Dr Felix Chingota of trying to gag the church.

“Surely as religious bodies we are losing trust in the elected committee. We are diverting from our path of building the nation, instead we are dividing it. Pac was formed to advance human decorum and steer our nation to prosperity. But that is not what is happening now,” bemoaned one of the mother bodies’ members.

PAC Executive Director, Robert Phiri while confirming the Thursday meeting referred this reporter to the grouping’s Publicity Secretary, Father Peter Mulomole who played down issues raised by the mother bodies.

“We met the mother bodies to discuss their own issues and not about anybody else. The issues being pointed out are completely not true. We did not discuss such issues,” said Mulomole while refusing to highlight what was discussed instead.

Mulomole dismissed suggestions that he was defending the executive committee but confirmed about the meeting with Bishop Bvumbwe, Bishop Malasa and Sheik Chabulika on Monday to decide their fate.

“We cannot suspend them without listening to them first.  We don’t judge until we hear their side of story. They have been speaking against Pac therefore we have to meet them before any decision is taken against them. We follow rules of natural justice,” added Mulomole.

Bishop Bvumbwe, Bishop Malasa and Sheik Chabulika have been criticizing Pac for taking strong stand against President Peter Mutharika’s administration, accusing the quasi-religious grouping of lacking moral standing to be judge and declare that the government has failed.

In April this year, Pac gave Mutharika’s government a fail grade, claiming the President and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have performed dismally to tackle socio-economic and political issues since elected into power in 2014.

Pac will hold All-Inclusive Stakeholders Conference from 7^th June to 8^th in Blantyre where it is expected to push for change of government as indicated in its statement in April where it called for a new political and state architecture.

The grouping influenced change from one party s to multi-party system of government in 1992. It has at least 35 member organizations that form an Annual General Assembly which appoints and elects its 7 Board of Trustees and 9 Executive Committee members respectively. These members have 3   years as tenure of office and serve two consecutive terms.