How Covid-19 hit Malawi cabinet: The Kamuzu Palace meetings
Strategy meeting for the 2025 elections by Malawi Congress party (MCP) gurus in December 2020 at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe may have contributed to the Covid-19 attack on some cabinet members who lost two of their colleagues on Tuesday.
Transport Minister Sidik Mia and Local Government Minister Lingson Berekanyama both succumbed to the disease in the early hours of Tuesday.
They were senior members of MCP, the main partner in Tonse alliance that unseated immediate past president Peter Mutharika in a cour-sanction fresh election in June last year, delivering victory to President Lazarus Chakwera.
Insiders at Kamuzu Palace said ministers especially those from the MCP in the Tonse Alliance government had been holding meetings at Kamuzu Palace together with some MCP gurus to strategize on the 2025 elections and the virus may have attacked the members during this time.
“This should be around 21 December or thereabout but before Christmas when these people had meetings and parties here and remember everyone that time had relaxed as we thought Covid-19 was gone. This is the time many were infected,” revealed an impeccable source at the palace.
Colloborated another source: “They were discussing what they will do in 2025 after President Lazarus Chakwera indicated that he will not have another go at the presidency and that is why most of the meeting the President was not in attendance and left them to discuss freely.”
Mia, who was MCP deputy president, had been tipped as a possible successor to Chakwera.
The first one to fall prey of the Covid-19 was Labour Minister Ken Kandodo who fortunately recovered from the pandemic and was followed by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Madalitso Kazombo who is making steady progress of recovery.
These two were said to have been part of the MCP 2025 strategy meetings at Kamuzu Palace.
The others who are said to have attended the meetings and have since passed on Tuesday included Ms. Norah Soko, an MCP political strategist from Kasungu.
The other MCP gurus who attended the meetings include cabinet ministers Richard Chimwendo Banda, Eisenhower Mkaka, Abida Mia, Robin Lowe, Khumbize Kandodo-Chiponda and MCP officials Sam Kawale and MCP administrative secretary Wickford Sulamoyo.
Minister of Industry Roy Kachale, a son of former president Joyce Banda, also disclosed he tested positive Covid-19 and was steadily recovering in self-isolation.
Chakwera has blamed the spike on decreased vigilance during the festive season.
On Tuesday, the President summoned an emergency meeting of the Presidential task force on Covid-19 to issue potential new measures and hinted on possibility of declaring a ‘State of Emergency’ where the military will enforce curfew after he had already declared a state of national disaster.
“This declaration of the national state of the disaster is but the first step towards the possible declaration of the state of emergency, subject to consultation with and approval from the defense and security committee of the national assembly as stipulated in section 45 of the constitution,” Chakwera said.
Malawi is facing a resurgence in coronavirus cases, with about 30 percent of confirmed infections registered in the past two weeks alone.
“We must all rise together and do what the health experts tells us to do,” Chakwara said in his speech, urging Malawians not to lose hope.
The President encouraged Malawians to police one another in observing Covid-19 preventive measures, which include washing hands with soap, observing social distance recommendations and putting on face coverings.
“We are fighting for our very lives and our future,” he said.
Malawi’s government was barred from implementing a lockdown last year after a High Court judge Kenyatta Nyirenda ruled the restrictions would unfairly impact the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
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Fake news iyi, it’s shameful how low our journalists have sank in this country……writing fake stories to remain relevant or for being slaves of bad politicians, what a shame.
And some uncivilised readers just believe everything story they read without asking questions…….I can assure you there’s no grain of truth in this article.
Eish very sad to our nation and mcp
I was also shocked when I saw photo of the president Chakwera and Madonna without wearing face masks.
Less than a year into government, you are busy organising for 2025, yet the country is in serious health emergency.
Atsabisalire COVID19. Akuopa mafunso a 1 million jobs, free electricity and water connections.
Tikukumbutsani tikangoika malirowo
Party functions should not be held at our palaces, the palaces we finance using our taxes. That is abuse of public resources
That’s true we have MCP National and district headquarters office in Lilongwe
If this is true that such notable ministers who are national figures were reluctant with covid 19 preventive measures then its a shame! Mwanapiye kugwetsa chitosi mkhola ndithudi amayamba awona amake anatani? So the very same leaders who are making noise on compliance to covid 19 measures are the same violating what messages are they passing to malawians? Have they ever known that leadership is a serious business? And that whatever a leader does followers do the same? If we say tonse alliance leaders are killing malawians are we wrong? A leader must live to his/her words this is very very important. Tazimvapo ife when a pastor is caught with somebody’s wife xtians openly say aaah ngati abusa akunyenga ndiye ife titani go konko basi! You see utsogoleri umafunika seriousness chonde you are a lamp on a table where everyone sees you so live by example thats my request kuwopa kuwonongetsa anthu. Mawu aja mumanena dzana kuti kulibe corona and that APM was using corona to run away from fresh elections ndi zomwe mukuwonongetsa nazo miyoyo ya wanthu mbambadi
A Malawi tikungotokota kodi zonse tikulemba kudandaula a Chakwera ndi aChilimawo amawerenga? Kapena a Kazakowo amawerenga ndikuuwauza kuti anthu akunena izi. Tinayawayika pampando ndife owachotsanso ndife ngati sakutsogolera bwino. Tisachite kudikira kuti zithu zifike poipa zambiri zionongeke plus kutaya miyoyo. A chite step down tilimbike ngati mmene timachitira mademo muja. Kusiya kumangoyankhula
chomwe umapitira ku mcp ndi chani akukonza komweko umafuna kokaferako. wayenda ndi udf,dpp, pp rest in pis sidik mia
Zayambira kumtunda konko hehe!!!!! covid kulibe ndi asthma, bp , diabetes ndiyochita kupanga. koma chilima akukumbukira mawu amenewa? nanga lero yachokera kuti? atiuza bwino. ajoyce ali kuti? ankati peter akunamiziratu paja. mulungutu si james wayamba kuwakantha. boma lowinawina kukamulanda mwini wake ? mphanvu yamulungu wa asrael imeneyo. yona anathawa kukalalikira anaiwala kuti mulungu sazembeka.
Underlying issues come mostly with age. These are BPs, diabetes etc. Asthma is the worst since the person is already short of oxygen. Do we have the sophisticated ventilators here? Oxygen is not enough since you have to breathe it in. A ventilator is like an artificial breathing mechanism. The problem with these power hungry guys is that they forget that one day they would get sick and die. They cannot equip the hospitals because they say the government would fly them to Garden City or India. With Covid-19 they have no where to go. They waste money on buying prados, Toyota Landcruiser V8 etc. Coronavirus does not know that you are bosses. We share the same air with dogs, snakes, flies etc. You have no special air. The air can come from Kawale to State House. Can you say this air is from Mchesi let’s not breathe it. Please equip the local hospitals. If Chakwera says we are Malawians, lets make Malawi great.
Nyumba yomwe Ambuye samanga oyimanga ayimanga chabe
back to sender, corona kulibe akufunana ku zemba masankho lero nanga mwatani?
Off side baba
Off side yakenso it baba Rhodrick Phiri? A Phiri anzanowo akunena zoona, nkhani yomwe akuchitira comment mwayiwerenga ndikuona ubale ndi ndemanga yake, ndendende zikugwirizana kungoti chilungamo mu ndemanga yaoyo ndi chomwe chikukupwetekani mtima chifukwa inu ndi otsatira chilimayo. Anganya akuthothokawa anali kunyoza APM kumati nthendayi kulibe akungofuna kuzemba zisankho.
So it started at executive level but ending in suffering of ordinary citizens? Please be fair. Why be greedy? 2025 is just too far you may not be there,
Ngati nkhani ya next leader ndiyoona. Abale a MCP tidekhe. Tiyeni oone patali. Ngati tidzakhalebe pa alliance it means Chilima will be the candidate and UTM will be ruling party. Therefore, we need young leader to take over from Chilima after 10 years. My humble suggestion will be Madalitsa Kazombo to lead MCP.
Ruling ya 2009 does not allow chilima. Takangowerengani. He will have to go for a judicial review. The judge that made that ruling is currently ku supreme court so akakumana nayenso konko
Chilima will stand that case applied to muluzi’s presidetial office. How come 2009 yomwe ija malewezi anaimila
Clearly you did not read the judgement because it covered all all positions of president, vice and second vice. I actually went to read it. it’s on the internet. section 39 (b) of the ruling . I think about 30 chapters below. It reviews the issues of the capacities in which they serve and the consecutive years issue. Assumptions is the mother of all problems
Inuyo a John D ndamene mukuyenera kutiuza by quoting what the judge said, just those relevant paragraphs. Thats what people do.
Otherwise if what u r saying is true then that judgement is wrong and unfair because ikupha ufulu wamunthu to seek a higher office. Ineyo I once read somewhere that the two terms for the vice president doesn’t count if the holder becomes president. Justine Malewezi served his maximum two terms as Bakili Muluzi vice president but went on to stand as an independent presidential candidate in 2004 elections. What’s your take on that?
Sayikoloni ludzu regarding Justin Malewezi, let us go back to how the events played out to clarify. 1994 to 2004 Bakili was president. However, in 2002 he gets greedy and proposes a constitutional amendment to allow him to stand for a third term. People get angry and demonstrate so he chickens out and hand picks Bingu. Meanwhile Justin Malewezi is annoyed by the handpicking and leaves the UD F. In the following elections Bingu, Justin and 3 more stand for the presidency and Bingu wins. Bingu turns against Bakili and in 2007 Bakili goes to the courts to see if he can stand again in 2009. so on 20th March 2009 the courts deny him that chance, he contested the ruling and in May, 3 days before the elections, the courts deny him the opportunity the final time. Therefore, Malewezi stood before the ruling, which further went to explain about the vice presidency and second vice presidency too. SKC will have to return to the court because of that ruling
That was before the judgement in 2009.
Too early to make suggestions
Good opinion but MCP should avoid family leadership. I understand Madalitso Kazombo is a relative of Hastings Banda.