Mchacha heap praises on Veep: ‘We in DPP love Chilima but he is surrounded by rotten group’

The governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regional governor (South) Charles Mchacha has toned down an attack on Vice-president Saulos Chilima and instead showered praise to the leader of United Transformation Movement (UTM) while attacking his front-line troops.

Recently, Mchacha branded UTM as a “satanic group of thieves, prostitutes and killers”.

However, speaking at the opening of the 15th National Agriculture Fair in Blantyre on Wednesday, Mchacha changed his tune and hailed Chilima.

Mchacha at the function which was president by President Peter Mutharika that Chilima, who dumped the DPP in June and will contest for presidency in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections, is “a good person.”

He said Mutharika handpicked Chilima as his running mate in 2014 presidential race to help run government as a technocrat.

But Mchacha took his political banter to Chilima’s front-line troops in UTM, saying they are “rotten group”.

He described some of the UTM leaders as criminals who are misleading the vice-president and denting the transformation factor.

Mchacha who quoted the Holy book of Bible in Isaiah Chapter 5  Verse 1 to 7 said: “Ife a DPP timamukonda Chilima, koma anthu amene amungulira ndi akuba, akupha ndipo ndiamene akumusokoneza [We in DPP love the Vice-president Chilima, but he is surrounded with thieves, killers who are misleading him].”

“There are others who were involved in Cashgate and some otherm have bail bonds from court,” he said. “It is a rotten group.”

UTM spokesman Joseph Chidanti Malunga said that Mchacha was right to openly accept that Chilima 45,  is a comparatively youthful and energetic, widely seen as a hands-on and results-oriented leader after he vibrantly led the Public Sector Reforms Programme that has since lost steam after being moved from his domain.

In the run-up to the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections, Chilima took many people by surprise when he resigned from his lucrative job as Airtel Malawi managing director in the private sector to join active politics as Mutharika’s running mate. His gamble paid dividends when the pair triumphed in the elections.

Some of his cronies in UTM were gurus in DPP, they include secretray general Patricia Kaliati, UTM national chairman Noel Masangwi (Blantyre City East  MP).

Other former DPP members who have key positions in UTM are Richard Makondi (Treasurer general),   legislators Allan Ngumuya (Blantyre City South), Malison Ndau (Ntcheu Central), Paul Chibingu (Mwanza West), former DPP national director of youth Louis Ngalande who is UTM director of security.