Sidelined VP Ansah sends gracious birthday message to Mutharika

Vice President Jane Ansah has extended a warm and gracious birthday tribute to President Arthur Peter Mutharika, despite widely reported tensions that have seen her increasingly marginalised within the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in recent months.

In a message posted on Facebook, Ansah said she was joining the president’s family, friends and “countless Malawians in thanking God” for his life, wishing him abundant good health, wisdom and many more years ahead.

“May the year ahead bring you continued strength, peace, and fulfillment as you remain committed to serving our beloved nation,” she wrote, closing with a further blessing for the president.

The tribute stands out given Ansah’s own political circumstances.

Despite occupying the country’s second-highest office, she has been notably absent from prominent government functions in recent months, with observers and commentators repeatedly pointing to her as frozen out of the DPP’s inner circle amid simmering succession tensions ahead of the 2030 election.

Reports of a rising star in Roza Mbilizi, and speculation over which figures Mutharika may ultimately favour to lead the party forward, have only sharpened the sense that Ansah’s influence within the party has waned since Mutharika’s return to power.

Against that backdrop, her decision to publicly and warmly mark the president’s 86th birthday — rather than issue a terse or perfunctory statement, or say nothing at all — has been read by some as a deliberate signal of continued loyalty, even as questions persist over how central a role she is genuinely being permitted to play.

The message comes amid a wider wave of birthday tributes for Mutharika, including a notable gesture from China, where President Xi Jinping sent the Malawian leader a personal letter and gift to mark the occasion.

Mutharika, born on 18 July 1940, turned 86 today.