Mutharika’s ‘wait until 2030’ warning aimed at his own Cabinet, says political academic
A leading political academic has cast doubt on President Peter Mutharika’s ability to control ambitious rivals within his own party, after the 86-year-old leader used a video message to warn those eyeing the presidency that they will have to wait until 2030 for their chance.
Gift Sambo, a University of Malawi lecturer specialising in party politics, elections and governance, said the President’s remarks were a thinly-veiled message aimed squarely at senior figures within the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rather than the Malawian public at large.
Sambo suggested the comments betrayed a degree of unease on Mutharika’s part over the near-inevitability of factional battles erupting within the DPP as his presidency edges towards its scheduled conclusion in 2030.
‘The message is targeting prominent members of the Cabinet, especially those in the party executive,’ Sambo said. ‘However, it won’t be easy for the President to tame such ambitions. It is a delicate situation.’
The academic’s blunt assessment poses an awkward question for the veteran leader: whether a single video message will be enough to keep a lid on ambitions that have likely been simmering within his own Cabinet for months, if not longer.
Mutharika delivered his message in a video shared by the State House Press Office as he departed for his fourth private visit to South Africa since retaking office following his victory in the September 16, 2025 general election – a pattern of undisclosed trips that has itself become a source of growing scrutiny.
In the video, the President left little room for ambiguity over his intentions to serve out his full term.
‘I agreed to run for elections and I promised Malawians that I will serve for five years,’ he said. ‘I am going to serve for five years until 2030 and those who cannot wait should wait until 2030 when there will be a competition and I hope to handover the government then to another member of the Democratic Progressive Party.’
Yet Sambo’s intervention suggests that behind the confident, unifying tone of the President’s message lies a more fraught reality – one in which Mutharika may find it far easier to declare his intentions than to enforce discipline among a party executive already positioning itself for the succession battle to come.