Mutharika will not resign – Chiefs Forum

Some chiefs from the Central Region operating under the Chiefs Forum have quashed the calls by the opposition parties for President Peter Mutharika to resign, saying there are no valid reasons for the leader to step down.

The chiefs made the remarks in Lilongwe on Thursday during a news conference which they held.

Chiefs Forum secretary Senior Chief Lukwa of Kasungu said the calls for the president’s resignation are being made out of hatred than building the country.

“The current problems facing country are not man-made, we currently have food shortage because of climate change and there is no way this problem can be attributed to the current leadership because during the past regimes, we were also experiencing the same things,” he said.

He said it is high time instead of trying to divide the country, the opposition leaders should come up with ways and means on how best the government can solve the problems.

Lukwa further said Mutharika was legally elected and has the mandate of ruling this country for five years so any calls for the President’s resignation are ‘aimed at bringing confusion and violence in the country because it’s against the constitution to make those calls.’

“If we say that the economy is not ticking, is Malawi an isolated case? This a global problem and the best thing we can do is work together,” said Lukwa , reacting the opposition political leaders are making such call without consult them.

Taking his turn, Senior Chief Chadza of Lilongwe said the resignation alone cannot change the economic status of the country.

“Gule akalowa mbwalo amakhala ndi nyimbo imodzi ndipo ngati akulakwitsa kuvina sitimamutulutsa pokhapokha nyimboyo ithe. Those who are calling for the president’s resignation should just wait for 2019,” he said.

Traditional Authority Kalonga of Salima said Malawi is facing a lot of problems because of sin.

“This is punishment from God. What is needed therefore is for the president, opposition leaders and chiefs to repent. Until we do that, God will bail us out,” he said.

The briefing was also attended by TA Kabudula, TA Malili, Senior Chief Kaomba and Senior Chief Tsabango

Recently, there have been calls by the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Peoples Party (PP) for the president to resign within 30 days.

MCP Director of Publicity Dr Jessie Kwabwira repeated the calls on Wednesday on Capital Radio that Mutharika should “humbly resign.”

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world as 74 percent of the population here lives on less than 1.25 dollars a day, and nearly one in 10 children die before their fifth birthday. The rising cost of basic commodities has added to these woes.