Daggers drawn: Mkaka to battle with 4 other heavyweights on MCP SG post at the convention
As the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) gets ready for its elective convention slated for August 8 to 10 this year, incumbent secretary general Eisenhower Mkaka is up against four other heavyweights who have expressed interest on the position.
Inside sources confirm that Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda, treasurer general Albert Mbawala, former presidential chief adviser on strategy Chris Chaima Banda and former parliamentarian Alex Major have all expressed interest on the party’s SG position.
In an interview Wednesday, both Chaima Banda and Major confirmed their interest in the MCP chief executive officer position.
Chaima Banda said he is optimistic that he would get the position at the convention.
“Yes, I am contesting and I am going to win. I am making this official on March 16,” Chaima Banda said.
On his part, Major expressed confidence that he would scoop the seat at the elective indaba.
“I am going to win because I was born a winner,” Major said.
But Chithyola Banda could neither confirm nor deny reports linking him to the MCP SG position.
Both Mkaka and Mbawala could not be immediately reached for their comments on the issue.
MCP spokesperson Ezekiel Ching’oma says the party, currently, that no official list of people vying for positions as it is yet to come up with nomination forms.
He added that once the process is done, party members would be notified.
“We are yet to come up with nomination papers and once that is done, we are going to open it [the process] up to members. We have also elected a steering committee and that committee will be overseeing these things,” Ching’oma said.
He also said the party has not yet recognised any candidate for the position.
“If anyone is campaigning, it is outside the party; just on social media,” Ching’oma said.
Other expected heated races at the convention would include those of the party’s two vice presidents for the North and South.
The South seat has been vacant since strongman Sidik Mia died in January 2021 while Defence Minister Harry Mkandawire is the incumbent vice president for the Northern Region.
Recently, MCP’s National Executive Committee (Nec) endorsed President Lazarus Chakwera as the party’s presidential candidate in the September 16 2025 presidential election.
In a statement on Monday evening, Mkaka indicated that MCP regional chairman for the North-North Region, Kezzie Msukwa, has been nominated to chair the Convention Steering Committee while MCP regional chairperson for the Southern Region Peter Simbi will serve as his deputy.
“As the oldest political party in Malawi, with a rich history of political activism and struggle for democracy, the MCP believes that this convention will be a crucial event for the party. The MCP hopes that the convention will reinvigorate its grassroots base,” Mkaka said.
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