Namiwa questions legality of Chihana chairing Cabinet over Ansah
A human rights activist has launched a blistering broadside at the Malawi government, demanding urgent answers over the extraordinary decision to have Second Vice President Enoch Chihana chair a Cabinet meeting — while sitting Vice President Dr Jane Ansah was left out entirely.
Sylvester Namiwa didn’t hold back at a press briefing on Monday, tearing into what he branded a deeply questionable arrangement and insisting Malawians deserved a full explanation for the bizarre state of affairs.
The activist zeroed in on the confusing logistics surrounding the meeting itself, pointing out that President Arthur Peter Mutharika was actually in Blantyre at the very moment Cabinet was gathering in Lilongwe.
“Malawians have been told that there is a Cabinet meeting today, yet President Arthur Peter Mutharika is in Blantyre while the meeting is in Lilongwe. How is that possible?” Namiwa demanded.
But it was the glaring absence of Vice President Ansah that really caught his attention, with the activist openly questioning why she had seemingly been frozen out of proceedings entirely — despite also being in Blantyre alongside the President.
“The country’s Vice President, Dr. Jane Ansah, has not been invited to today’s Cabinet meeting. Why is that?” he pressed.
Namiwa then turned his fire on the decision to instead hand the reins to Second Vice President Chihana, demanding government spell out exactly what legal authority underpinned the unusual move.
“We are hearing that Enoch Chihana will chair the Cabinet meeting. Why? Which provisions of the law are you following?” he asked pointedly.
The activist revealed he had attempted to get to the bottom of the mystery by contacting Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi directly — but was left frustrated when his efforts proved fruitless.
“We tried to speak to Chief Secretary Justin Saidi, but we could not reach him,” Namiwa said.
The explosive questions come after government confirmed President Mutharika had personally delegated Chihana to chair Monday’s Cabinet session in Lilongwe, while the President attended to separate official business in Blantyre.
According to official government information, both Mutharika and Ansah were together in Blantyre on government duties at the time — a detail that has only deepened confusion over why the Vice President wasn’t simply tasked with chairing the meeting herself, given her constitutional standing as the country’s second-highest office holder.
Government has so far remained tight-lipped, offering no public response to Namiwa’s pointed questions over the legal framework behind the delegation, or why Ansah was bypassed in favour of the Second Vice President.
The extraordinary saga has now ignited fierce debate over Cabinet procedures and the exercise of executive authority within Mutharika’s government, with Namiwa insisting ministers owe the public a clear and transparent legal explanation to prove that proper constitutional and administrative processes are actually being followed behind the scenes.
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