Malawi VP Ansah speaks out over marginalisation within Mutharika administration

State Vice-President Dr Jane Ansah has said she is being sidelined by figures within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration, in a rare public intervention that exposes tensions at the heart of government.

Speaking on Monday, Ansah said she was aware of those responsible for undermining her role, though she declined to name them.

She was careful to distinguish between her relationship with President Peter Mutharika, which she described as cordial, and what she characterised as a separate effort by unnamed officials to marginalise her within the administration.

“You  know the office of the Veep was established to assist the running of the country,” said Ansah in an interview with Zodiak Radio.

The intervention is striking chiefly for what it reveals about the internal dynamics of the DPP government, rather than for what it discloses.

Vice-presidents in Malawi’s political system occupy a role that is constitutionally significant but often practically limited, dependent for influence on the willingness of the presidency to delegate genuine responsibility.

“I am in this office because I am a Malawian and being female is a plus,” she said.

“The challenges that I am facing now is not because I am a female. The position of vice president  has faced problems before,” she said.

Ansah’s remarks suggest that dependency has, in her case, not been honoured.

Her appointment was seen at the time as an attempt to shore up the DPP’s legal and technocratic credentials, drawing on her background as a former chair of the Malawi Electoral Commission.

That background made her a figure of some public standing independent of the party machinery – a status that may account for both her willingness to speak publicly now, and the friction she describes.

Ansah stopped short of naming names or detailing specific instances of exclusion, and her office did not immediately respond to requests for further comment. Nor did she indicate what action, if any, she intends to take.

The absence of detail leaves open the question of whether this is the opening move in a more sustained dispute, or a pointed but ultimately contained expression of frustration.

The presidency has not yet responded to her comments.