Legal expert faults Mutharika for no show at Chakwera swearing-in ceremony: ‘Totally discredited’ 

Renowned South Africa-based Malawian professor of law, Danwood Chirwa,  has faulted former president Peter Mutharika for staying away at the swearing in ceremony of President Lazarus Chakwera and vice-president Saulos Chilima on Sunday in the capital Lilongwe.

Chakwera and Chilima were sworn in by Chief Justice Andrew Nyirenda after being declared winner of the June 23 fresh presidential polls.

Writing on his Facebook account, Professor Chirwa said Mutharika continues to hold intent on holding his knee on the neck of innocent Malawians and despite having been voted out of office in a free and fair election, has contrived the most frivolous argument for rejecting the result.

“In his last act of unconstitutional behavior, he has boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of the new President,” he wrote.

Chirwa noted that to hand over power to a new president was the only legitimate reason Mutharika was kept in power for the last 13 months.

“During all that time he did all manner of things that were not within his constitutional mandate, but when called upon to discharge his main constitutional duty as interim President, he has bolted,” he said.

The Cape University law professor added that there can be no doubt that Mutharika has left the office of the presidency totally discredited, defeated, bitter and unfulfilled.

“But whatever pain he might be feeling for whatever reason, it doesn’t compare with the collective suffering he has caused to Malawians over the long period he has been close to and in possession of power,” he said.

Chirwa has also lambasted Mutharika saying for a self-acclaimed specialist in public law, Professor Mutharika has nothing to show by way of improvements to Malawi’s democracy, constitutionalism, the electoral system, judicial independence, parliamentary autonomy and freedom of civil society.

He adds that Mutharika’s record will show that in fact he worked tirelessly to undermine all of these.

“Let Mutharika be one more shining example that cheating does not pay; that no matter how long it may take, a regime based on tribalism and lawlessness meets its day and ends in defeat, pain and shame,” he said.

Mutharika did not attend the ceremony because the law does not require the outgoing president to be present when a successor is taking over.