Chakwera, Kaliwo rift grows as MCP rules out mediation

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) says the party has not engaged the ‘rebel’ secretary general Gustave Kaliwo and others, saying the party told the court it was withdrawing the case on tactical legal point.

In an interview, MCP deputy secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka said the MCP told the High Court last week that it was withdrawing the case against Kaliwo to avoid embarrassment during cross examination which Kaliwo had prepared for.

“The truth is there is no such thing (mediation). As a matter of fact, the Kaliwos just wanted to embarass Dr. Lazarus Chakwera through the cross examination seeing they would not win the case. So we tactfully withdraw the case and that infuriated the Kaliwo Camp. It’s not true there is mediation attempt,” said Mkaka.

MCP lawyers told the High Court in Lilongwe that the party was withdrawing a case in which Chakwera obtained an injunction stopping Kaliwo from calling for an emergency convention.

In April 2017, Kaliwo called for a convention that was supposed to be held from July 7 to 9, 2017 with a claim that that the growing concerns among MCP district chairpersons necessitated a convention for resolutions.

But in June last year, Chakwera and the party obtained  an injunction against the planned convention with an argument that Kaliwo was supposed to formally put across to the party’s national executive committee the request by the district chairpersons.

The High Court asked the MCP lawyer Titus Mvalo to make a formal request on the discontinuance of the case.