‘Respect the chain of command!’ DPP SG Mukhito moves to quell internal tensions

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has issued a stern warning to its members, insisting the party will not tolerate individuals acting outside its established protocols and structures.

DPP secretary-general Peter Mukhito used a party meeting to demand that members show proper respect towards officials who have been duly elected through the party’s official convention processes.

‘You, ordinary members, are simply giving undeserved respect to anyone,’ Mukhito told the gathering. ‘The leader of this nation is Professor Peter Mutharika, and the rest of us hold other positions. Let us respect this. When some people arrive, they are not being received properly.’

Mukhito made the remarks during a meeting bringing together senior party officials and members drawn from the southern region of the country, in what appeared to be a pointed effort to reinforce discipline and hierarchy within DPP structures ahead of what is likely to be a period of heightened internal jostling.

Among those present at the gathering were DPP southern region vice-chairperson Joseph Mwanamvekha, party governor Charles Mchacha, chief operating officer Francis Mphepo, and northern region governor Christopher Mzomera Ngwira.

The unusually direct warning comes amid mounting speculation over internal positioning within the ruling party, following President Mutharika’s own recent remarks insisting that any succession contest within the DPP would not take place until 2030 – comments political analysts have suggested were themselves aimed at senior party figures already manoeuvring for future influence.

Mukhito’s comments appear designed to reinforce the chain of command within the party’s structures, at a moment when questions over discipline, loyalty and internal cohesion have increasingly come under the spotlight across Malawi’s political landscape.