‘MCP can never rebrand under Chakwera’: MP’s scathing verdict as reform row explodes

A Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Member of Parliament has delivered a blistering public attack on President Lazarus Chakwera, declaring the party can “never reform or rebrand” while he remains in charge — as internal tensions over the party’s future explode into open warfare.

Ayuba James, Independent MP for Nkhota Kota Central and MCP member, launched the scathing broadside in a series of social media posts, accusing Chakwera’s leadership of comprehensively failing to deliver the reform and rebranding the party promised in the wake of its 2025 election defeat.

James didn’t hold back, blasting Chakwera’s handling of appointments to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) as proof the party leadership has no genuine appetite for change.

He singled out the exclusion of Vitumbiko Mumba from the NEC as a particularly glaring missed opportunity, arguing a savvier political operator would have seized the moment to extend an olive branch.

“A shrewd politician would have seen that Mumba has been growing politically after the 2025 elections. He would also have naturally felt the need to atone,” James wrote in his post.

The MP reserved further fury for Chakwera’s decision to appoint Simplex Chithyola Banda as Leader of Opposition, branding the move a direct contradiction of everything the party had promised about genuine reform.

“But when the first opportunity to start showing real reform and rebranding arrived, Dr. Chakwera single-handedly appointed Chithyola as Leader of Opposition, the same Chithyola that lectured us about SOSISA Economics,” James fumed.

He went further still, warning that sidelining figures like Mumba from the NEC sends an unmistakable message about the party’s true intentions.

“Leaving out people like We Gat This from the NEC appointments in MCP is simply a statement that ‘we cannot reform and we are not prepared to rebrand,'” James declared.

In his most damning verdict yet, James concluded that meaningful change simply cannot happen within MCP while Chakwera remains at the helm, calling instead for an entirely different leadership approach to transform the party’s fortunes.

“Ultimately, MCP can never reform or rebrand with President Chakwera still in charge,” he wrote bluntly.

The explosive intervention comes as James has increasingly used his platform to champion McBride Nkhalamba, who, according to widespread speculation within party circles, is being tipped to contest the MCP presidential race in the party’s upcoming elections.

In one particularly pointed post referencing former president Bakili Muluzi’s famous 2004 remarks about “selling” the country Bingu wa Mutharika as his successor, James appeared to draw parallels to the current succession battle, writing cryptically: “Anali adivaizala wa ma pulezidenti 60!!!!, muno mu Africa. Selling us Bingu wa Mutharika. Nanga pamene simukumvetsa ndi pati maguy kwenikweni maguy mbali iyoyo? Mufuniranjinso umboni wina?”

The fiery outburst adds fresh fuel to the increasingly bitter succession battle already engulfing MCP, with the party’s future direction, and Chakwera’s own political survival, hanging firmly in the balance.