Kaliati, Saonda slur Chakwera again: ‘Abandoned church for selfish political interest’

Malawi ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) director of woman Patricia Kaliati and marverick DPP orator George Saonda on Sunday took another attack on opposition leader Lazarous Chakwera who left his role as president of the Assemblies of God church to lead Malawi Congress Party (MCP).

Kaliati and Saonda took turns to insinuate that Chakwera abandoned God’s work to pursue his selfish interest,

They were speaking during a political rally at Nyambadwe School Ground in Blantyre attended by President Peter Mutharika and vice president Saulos Chillima which was covered by tax-run MBC television and radio.

Saonda in his slurs referred to MCP president as “Laza” and asked the people to join him singing: “Munamuona Laza nalamula? Iyayi koma Peter!”

While Kaliati did not mention Chakwera by name by directly insinuated about him as a former church leader who lost the presidency to Mutharika.

She cautioned the people against listening to “press conference” politicians like Chakwera whose characters are questionable.

Kaliati said Chakwera did not carry on the important job of serving the lost souls.

“After realising that there was little money people gave in church offering, he decided to abandon the church to get heft salary at parliament”, Kaliati said.

MCP has dismissed an attack on its leader, saying DPP intends to divert people’s attention as it has put the country on “Pause’.

Chakwera has always argued that when quarters question his joining mainstream politics and advancing that he abandoned God’s work, he has always put it to them that he hasn’t abandoned or left ministry.

The MCP president said he just retired from a position in one type of ministry  to take up a role in another  as a broadening of God’s responsibility bestowed upon him.

The MCP leader explained that many Christians have shunned joining politics and believed the notion that is advanced in our societies that politics is dirty forgetting that it is the people who have mostly been in politics who have made it dirty through various malpractices.  He said time has come to change this belief.

A renowned consultant on leadership and faith-based issues in Africa, Dr Sam Ndoga said there was nothing wrong with christians and church leaders participating in active politics.

He cited the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa which was founded by Reverend Donald Dube in 1912 and 4 other pastors came after him such as Albert Luthuli who was deeply religious and Oliver Tambo, a devout christian. He said these led the party before Nelson Mandela, adding that ANC adopted what was first composed as  a Christian hymn (Nkosi Sikele ‘li Africa- God bless Africa) as the country’s  national anthem later.

He further quoted Martin Luther King as follows “ A Gospel that doesn’t deal with the issues of the day is not a Gospel at all”

Ndoga who is also a university lecturer in South Africa  further said ANC at that time adopted Isaiah 61 as their political statement since it represented everything they believed  in as a political movement.

He said he believes politics founded as well as centred on Christian or Godly values is the best.

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