Chakuamba rejoins Malawi Congress Party
Malawi’s renowned veteran politician and a key political ally of the country’s former president Hastings Kamuzu Banda, has rejoined Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
Chakuamba was president of the New Republican Party (NRP) and said on Thursday that his entire party executive has agreed to work and support the MCP.
“I am back home in MCP,” said Chakuamba.
“I started my political journey in MCP, had so many stop overs along the way but it’s now time to return to the nest, where I belong,” Chakuamba told Nyasa Times.
Chakuamba was jailed by late Kamuzu Banda for his attempt to kill him with a pen-pistol. He was released during the dawn of multiparty democracy and joined UDF.
He then rejoined the MCP where he led it to 1999 elections but later fell out with party strongman John Tembo forcing him to resign and form his Republican Party.
Under Republican Party, Chakuamba as one of the major presidential candidates in the May 2004 elections.
He declared himself president before the official results were announced, leading to demonstrations in the commercial capital Blantyre that led to the killing of several people by police.
Chakuamba quit the Republican Party and joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2004 where he was elected as interim first vice president.
He left DPP when the then President Bingu wa Mutharika sacked him as senior minister from his Cabinet in a corruption row. He was accused of buying a luxury sedan with World Bank cash.
Recently, Chakuamba was campaigning for People’s Party in Mzimba by-elections.
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