Uladi sacked as PP vice president, parliamentary leader

The erstwhile ruling People’s Party (PP)  has fired Salima Central Member of Parliament Uladi Mussa as  its vice president of the party for the central region.

PP spokesperson Noel Chimpeni said the party’s highest decision-making body fired  Mussa  after he publicly declared that he was taking over the presidency of the party from  Joyce Banda, arguing that her tenure had expired.

Chimpeni said  Mussa’s acting PP leader post  was appointed by Banda and that the vice president post was also appointed .

“During the convention the post of vice president was held by Dr Cassim Chilumpha but when he resigned, Uladi Mussa was appointed,” he said.

Mussa also ceases to be the  party’s parliamentary leader following the dismissal.

He was  accused of  sowing discord and undermining founding president Joyce Banda’s  .

Banda left Malawi soon after losing the presidential election to Peter Mutharika in 2014.

According to Chimpeni, the firing of  Mussa is not meant to disable his political career or party membership but is meant to correct behaviour.

“He is free to contest for any leadership position at the convention,” said Chimpeni.

He said: “We expect him to respect the verdict of the party because similar decisions have been made before on other people such as Honourable Mzomera Ngwira and Honourable Khumbo Kachali when he [the latter] was the party leader.”

Things have been falling apart for the erstwhile ruling party since losing the May 20 2014 Tripartite Elections and commentators have said the situation is being aggravated with the absence of the party leader.

Banda established PP after her expulsion from DPP in December 2010 alongside Kachali for protesting a succession plan to have Peter Mutharika as Bingu wa Mutharika’s successor. She served as the country’s Vice-President and ascended to the presidency in April 2012 in line with constitutional order after Bingu’s death.

PP was borne from a group initially called Friends of Joyce Banda at the time she was systematically detached from the government system.