Ntata’s Uncommon Sense: Malawi First Lady branded ‘Jezebel’, power behind Mutharika and making decisions

If the saying “behind every great man is a great woman” is true, then it must also hold true that behind any failure of a man, their must be a woman of small and limited intelligence who is unable to help her husband become great.

First Lady is said to be prone to bouts of anger and nurses a deep resentment toward anyone who dares to suggest that because her husband is too old and too unpopular, the DPP needs to seriously consider fielding someone else in the 2019 elections.

The importance of the role of a man’s so called better half then, cannot be over emphasised, especially when that man is a president of a country. After picking a male president, countries are ‘gifted’ with First Ladies – presidential spouses who must have traversed the country with their husbands in search of the mandate.

Even though their role is largely not constitutional, most of them have offices tied to the presidency. Different countries have to deal with the unofficial civil servants for the right and wrong reasons.

First Ladies are the president’s better half, ‘mothers of the nation’ – they are called. This is probably right because they complete the ‘father of the nation’ – the man chosen by majority of the voter population to steer the affairs of state.

Some are visible and powerful, others are controversial. Some you hardly ever see but on campaign platforms, popping up and fading out as quickly as they arrived.

One in the recent past openly disagreed with her husband on his governance style – not even his response that “she belongs to the kitchen and other rooms” deterred her from firing a salvo or two.

Aisha Buhari, whose husband Muhammadu said she is not a ‘First Lady’ but rather ‘Wife of the President,’ warned in response to some criticism made against her that her husband would soon be back from sick leave to fire the hyenas and jackals that were enjoying his continued absence.

Across the continent, they are simply “accidental civil servants” of sorts. They are those that get the limelight because of their marital association with the president.

In Malawi, we are seeing unfolding before our very own eyes, the evolution of a First Lady who after being introduced to the nation from relatively obscurity, is now consolidating herself as the power behind the power, controlling each and every aspect of President Peter Mutharika’s leadership and administration, and, it is said, making all the important decisions for him.

If the reports coming from the State House are anything to go by, and I see no reason to disbelieve reports given to me by most reliable cabinet members, these are times of daring and hubris, for Madam Getrude Mutharika. The president’s wife has evolved from a simple headstrong headstrong politician aspiring for the position of MP in her constituency to a political power player in her own right. She has emerged victorious from her battles against former Special Assistant Ben Phiri as to who would have the president’s most attentive ear, a more seasoned and more manipulative politician with a better grasp of how to control Mutharika and keep all the men around him beholden to her.

As we all know, the most important thing that President Mutharika lacks is discipline in his intellectual or decision-making life, unless somebody rescues him. For a good part of his presidency, Ben Phiri with his more decisive yet always self-aggrandising approach to government policy was the one doing the rescuing. Today, having overseen the decline and fall of Ben Phiri, the First lady has taken up that mantle and is the one who kept things moving.”

The first lady has now been nicknamed “Jezebel’ within government circles. The biblical Jezebel controlled her husband, King Ahab, to the point that Israel was utterly corrupted and weakened as a nation. A Jezebel always intends to get what she wants at all costs, but this intention can be cleverly disguised. Jezebels use flattery, saying what you want to hear, to win you over to their domination. Jezebels are masters of manipulation by guilt, gifts, innuendo, insinuation, undermining influence, or discrediting. They may exhibit false humility or submission, while they feed their own pride and seek to get their way. They may dominate, control, and manipulate to gain their own agenda. Jezebels use flirtation and womanly wiles. They are extremely jealous of anyone they perceive to be a threat or who gets close enough to influence someone they want to control. They can emit jealousy into a room, as they play one person against another. They are divisive and send separation and strife into the strongest relationships.

The First Lady is said to be prone to bouts of anger and nurses a deep resentment toward anyone who dares to suggest that because her husband is too old and too unpopular, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) needs to seriously consider fielding someone else in the 2019 elections. Some say she even sometimes suggests her own name to be Peter Mutharika’s running mate! She is an important force within the State House, not for domestic duties such as cooking Peter Mutharika’s meals and ironing his shirts, but for single-handedly pushing the now 79-year-old Mutharika to seek re-election in 2019, when the president himself does want to run again.

Considering the First lady’s inexperience, however, is it not surprising that her imposing herself into the DPP fabric has resulted in serious divisions among DPP insiders. What is surprising and even shocking is how much the President seems to be depending on her more than any other figure in his world. It is blinding him to trouble, some advisers and cabinet members have concluded, most notably about the real issues that are making his presidency unpopular- the failures in making important decisions regarding the electricity shortages, healthcare service decline and more importantly, the future of the party with regard to the next elections.

Now, pardon my cynicism, but I would have thought that the first lady would be the first person to recognise that the president is desperately unpopular, and more importantly to appreciate that at his age and with his health, the president needs to retire, and do in while leaving a powerful DPP legacy that could make them proud in their retirement.

Could it be that the first lady loves the power surrounding the president even more than she loves the president, and that the thought of giving up that power is so unbearable that she is willing to sacrifice the president to maintain it?

Even as I write this, the first lady of Zimbabwe has failed to hang on to her husband’s power and the result has been to plunge the country into a coup fiasco that signals nothing but another ugly chapter in the history of that country.

Behind every great man, so the saying goes, is a great woman.

Is it safe to say that we now know exactly who is behind President Peter Mutharika’s failures, flops and disasters?

Is it the woman that those in the know are referring to as Jezebel?

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Nachisale
Nachisale
6 years ago

Useless analysis and very opportunistic view – a desperate attempt by Ntata to paint Gertrude Mutharika as Grace Mugabe. You think you can induce Zimbabwe’s political and military events in Malawi in order to bring down APM. Sorry, Mr Ntata mudadya zokwanira za Bingu wa Mutharika. Just keep quiet instead of being full of anger because munakwera yophwa matayala.

TYANDA SCHOLAR
TYANDA SCHOLAR
6 years ago

Bwana Ntata, you have given me a very critical and well-researched article. I think the first lady might indeed be in the line of pulling down this 79-year old Mutharika with her surreptitious agenda. The DPP die-hards must be treading extremely careful with the current novice leadership of APM, for if the current leadership traits is anything to go by, then i would candidly say that come 2019 DPP will be undoubtedly shown an exit door.

My Malawi
My Malawi
6 years ago

You can do better Allan. This is cheap

Mwanamulopwana
Mwanamulopwana
6 years ago

I feel sorry for Alan Ntata, This scrap called Ntata till today I don’t really believe that he has Masters , Mbuzi ya Lawyer no wonder mutu muli mphusi zokhazokha

Abango
Abango
6 years ago

Paja mberere zimayang’anira nzawo akagwidwa ndi kambuku m’malo moliyamba liwiro. Ndiye mwambi uja woti “Ndionetsetse anathetsa mberere”. The current scenario in Zimbabwe aught to give this Jezebel a free of charge lesson, but oh! power really corrupts the mind.

Mpelu
Mpelu
6 years ago

This was just a cheap short article aimed at the first lady. Bwana Ntata, you can do better than this

Khima
Khima
6 years ago

Allan Ntata Dr. You are one bitter person, May our Good Lord grant you inner peace.

chaione wawo
6 years ago

Her public appearance does not match what you just wrote but who knows what happens behind the scenes. Being a Malawian she has every right to try her luck on the presidency as long as she does not use unorthodox ways to achieve the same. The DPP must do what is reasonable if it is to maintain power. so far the DPP is stinking and sinking. They have a lot to do to get the trust of Malawians. As it stands today, a normal election which is truly free and fair (not by the standards of international observers) would see… Read more »

Gogodasi
6 years ago

While I agree with the analysis made by Ntata, I also believe Peter is incompetent. The fact that the woman is harbouring political ambitions to a level of being Peter’s next running mate is indisputable. She is demonstrating it through the promotion of BEAM and MBC’s Zokonda Amayi. I had some friends at some pub at Bwandilo where we seriously discussed the motive behind all what the woman is doing. We all came up with one point that Gertrude is positioning herself for a bigger political role than simply supporting the husband. I am glad that we all agreed that… Read more »

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