Blantyre City East MP Bande joins MCP

Blantyre City East legislator  John Banda , who won the parliamentary seat on an independent ticket  in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections, has joined Malawi Congress Party (MCP) after ditching the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that propelled him to prominence since 2005.

Bande became the fourth MP in under a month to join MCP after Tony Ngalande of Balaka North, Eurita Mtiza Valera of Nsanje South West and Ramzan Mohammed of Nsanje South. They were all elected as independent legislators.

Welcoming Banda into MCP at Molokai Primary School in Blantyre, party deputy-president, who is also Minister of Transport and Public Works, Mohammed Sidik Mia, said “MCP has now become the most attractive party.”

Mia said Banda as a seasoned politician will strengthen MCP in the southern region.

“MCP is making inroads in the Southern Region and with Bande joining, we set to build on the momentum,” said Mia.

Bande said he joined MCP because the has earned trust and confidence of Malawians.

After the death of president Bingu wa Mutharika, Bande joined the then president Joyce Banda’s People’s Party towards the 2014 elections but he got defeated by the then DPP candidate Noel Masangwi (now UTM Party patron), who garnered 14,012 votes against Bande’s 11,015 on the PP ticket.

He then went into obscurity and resurfaced for the 2019 elections as an independent in which Bande overwhelmingly defeated DPP candidate Alex Chimwala by 25,813 to 6,479.

Bande, who has a Masters in Political Leadership obtained from the University of Liverpool, did his primary school education at St Kizito and Limbe primary schools before going to Mzimu Woyera Seminary in Chikwawa for his high school.

He later did accounting at Malawi College of Accountancy and at Polytechnic Management Centre as well as Project Management at Malawi Institute of Management.

Bande  has represented the DPP and the People’s Party and served as Cabinet Minister in several portfolios — trade and industry; lands and urban development; tourism; labour; mining and as deputy minister of information and government spokesperson.