‘Malawi needs a process of national detoxification’: UTM leader Kabambe issues blunt warning

UTM president Dalitso Kabambe has issued a striking call for what he described as Malawi’s “national detoxification”, urging the Church to champion unity in faith while insisting the nation must find a similar common purpose to move forward.

Kabambe made the remarks in an interview on the sidelines of the 40th General Assembly of the CCAP Livingstonia Synod, calling on Malawians to keep politics and worship firmly separate, and to stop treating national occasions as opportunities for partisan point-scoring.

‘Malawi needs a process of national detoxification – where prayer belongs to God, politics belongs to the democratic process, and national events belong to every Malawian,’ he said.

The blunt remarks came as the Synod’s general assembly – held to elect Church leaders for the next four years – drew an unusually high-profile crowd of political figures, all gathered under the same roof.

CCAP Livingstonia Synod general secretary Rev. William Tembo welcomed the presence of politicians at the gathering, insisting they too are called by God to serve the people, regardless of which party banner they stand under.

Among those in attendance were former President Lazarus Chakwera, Second Vice-President Enock Chihana and former Vice-President Khumbo Kachali, alongside a number of other members of parliament – a rare gathering of senior figures from across Malawi’s political divide.

Kabambe’s call for a national reset comes at a time when many Malawians have grown weary of the country’s often toxic political discourse, with his remarks likely to resonate with citizens hoping to see politicians rise above party lines, at least when it comes to matters of faith and national unity.