Malawi ruling PP disowns Uladi’s scathing tirade, call it personal
Malawi’s ruling People’s Party (PP) spokesman Hophmally Makande and his deputy Kenneth Msonda have disowned as personal and not reflecting the position of the party foul-mouthing of opposition leader by its top official Uladi Mussa.
Uladi Mussa who is also Minister of Home Affairs and another party official, Yusuf Matumula have launched verbal tirade on presidential hopefuls UDF’s Atupele Muluzi and DPP’s Peter Mutharika who are geared to challenge President Joyce Banda in 2014 tripartite elections.
Mussa has been retaliating his scathing rebukes on both Muluzi and Mutharika during PP rallies and radio interviews, describing the UDF president as a “toddler not fit” to be the country’s next president while taking a swipe on widower, DPP acting president, arguing he cannot make a good president because he has no wife.
PP spokesman said what Uladi speaks does not represent the position of the ruling party, saying it only President Banda who carries the official message of the party during rallies.
“People should be listening what the Head of State says, after she has spoken, whatever anybody else has said is null and void,” said Makande.
And responding to Nyasa Times questionnaire, PP’s Deputy Publicity Secretary Kenneth Msonda while condemning the conduct of Uladi, distanced the party from such remarks, calling them as ‘personal’.
“PP’s leadership, policies and ideologies do not encourage politics of mudslinging and castigating others. Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda has always reminded party leaders and our youth to practice politics of inclusiveness in line with democratic values,” Msonda said.
However, Msonda dismissed the public outburst by Mussa and Matumula as an error while maintaining that the party has never supported such undignified tendencies.
“To error is human, sometimes when given an opportunity to speak, we are carried away and slip-over; that does not mean the party encourages such slippages and utterances. The views to castigate others expressed by various speakers during H.E and party’s functions are personal and not of the party. The party and its leadership totally condemn the tendency”.
Msonda said although the Mussa-like kind of behavior seems to be currently becoming way of life in the ruling party, but its leadership has never encouraged nor consented to it.
Said Msonda: “JB does not want to rebuke and embarrass us publically, and behind the scenes, she always reminds us to avoid such slippages”.
Ironically, President Banda has, at some point, be making rebuking remarks on opposition parties and their leaders while she seems to enjoy entertaining her party officials personal verbal attacks on Muluzi and Mutharika who are set to tussle with her for the country’s top-seat in 2014 tripartite elections.
But Chancellor College political analyst, Boniface Dulani described the public outburst by PP officials as primitive politics that has nothing to offer to Malawians.
Dulani in an interview with Capital radio said: “Such conduct undermines democratic principles and offers nothing to the nation. It’s a tendency that should not be condoned as it will only generate hatred among politicians”.
His comment concurred with some political commentators and human rights activists have condemned the continued castigations of opposition party leadership by PP officials with Malawi Watch Executive Director, Billy Banda who also labelled personal attacks on Muluzi and Mutharika as “primitive” politics being advanced by the ruling party.
Banda said with only a few months before the country’s next general elections, such scathing remarks could create hatred and enmity amongst supporters of the two parties.
And University of Malawi political scientist, Dr. Augustine Magolowondo has warned that such type of politics will backfire on PP someday if the party is not cautious, adding the tendency is working for the benefit of those castigated as it is freely campaigning for them and promoting their (opposition) agendas to the electorate.
Uladi has vowed to continue his foul-mouthing speeches. He told Zodiak Broadcasting Services that he is picked to speak at presidential rallies because of his good oratory skills and that it is PP’s strategy to “expose weaknesses of opposition.”
Recently DPP also disowned threats by its Central Province governor Kizito Ngwembe to dismiss civil servants deemed affiliated to opposition parties.
PP secretary general Henry Chibwana said such statements were not in line with democracy.
Ironically, Chibwana, during a rally in Mangochi, also made a statement calling on the Inspector General of Police to arrest all politicians who will be found using a convoy.
The call was later followed by the detention of DPP interim president Peter Mutharika in Ntchisi on accusation that he was using an overhead flashlight on one of his security vehicles.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :