OPINION | MCP’s Rebellion Is Not About Rules—It’s a Revolt Against Chakwera’s Failed Leadership
Let’s stop pretending. What is happening in the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is not a “procedural misunderstanding” about how the Leader of the Opposition should be chosen. It is an outright revolt — a rebellion against Lazarus Chakwera’s increasingly brittle leadership and the hollow authority he now wields over a disillusioned party.
For years, MCP has prided itself as the party of order, discipline, and principle. But today, that façade is cracking. The open defiance by its own members — led by Deputy Secretary General Gerald Kazembe — is the clearest signal yet that Chakwera’s word no longer carries the moral or political weight it once did. His decision to appoint Simplex Chithyola as Leader of Opposition has not unified the party; it has exposed just how divided, distrustful, and disoriented the MCP has become.
Let’s be honest: Chakwera’s mistake was not merely procedural. It was political arrogance — the kind that refuses to read the mood of the times. After leading MCP into defeat on September 16, the least he owed his party was humility, consultation, and renewal. Instead, he chose control. He imposed loyalists, sidelined dissenters, and clung to power as if nothing had happened. But politics, especially in defeat, is unforgiving. You cannot lead a wounded army with the same command-and-control instincts that caused the loss in the first place.
The rebels inside MCP are not just questioning Chakwera’s appointment; they are questioning his right to continue leading a party he has failed to reform. They see the appointment of Chithyola as another desperate act of self-preservation — a way for Chakwera to plant a proxy who will protect his interests in Parliament, rather than represent the genuine voice of the opposition.
The consequences are dire. Instead of consolidating strength in Parliament, MCP is wasting energy fighting itself. Instead of offering a credible, united front to hold the new government accountable, it is engaged in internal warfare. And instead of emerging as a disciplined opposition ready to rebuild trust with Malawians, it is fast becoming a cautionary tale of how ego and centralism destroy political movements.
Chakwera’s defenders will argue that the President of the party has the right to appoint parliamentary leadership. But rights are meaningless without legitimacy. What MCP needs now is not another decree from the top but a leader who can listen, reconcile, and inspire confidence. Chakwera has failed to be that leader. His silence in the face of this rebellion speaks volumes — of a man who has lost touch, lost authority, and perhaps, lost the moral claim to lead.
The MCP crisis is, therefore, not about who should sit in the Leader of Opposition’s chair. It is about whether the party can still recognize and correct its own decay. It is about whether it has the courage to move on from the past — including from Chakwera himself — and rebuild from the ground up.
Until it does, the party that once liberated a nation will remain imprisoned by the arrogance of one man and the cowardice of those too afraid to confront him.
The MCP is bleeding — and the wound is self-inflicted.