Who should resign: Chilima or Mutharika or both?

At the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government  has  turned the screws on Vice-President Saulos Chilima  – with backing from its sponsored groups  -calling for his immediate resignation as he seeks to challenge  President Peter Mutharika in the May 21 2019 presidential race, the matter has triggered debate with analysts and opposition giving mixed views.

President Mutharika and First Lady with the Vice President Saulos Chilima and Madam Mary Chilima: Who should go?

.A group of ‘civil society organizations’ (CSOs) with strong links to (DPP has been agitating for the resignation Chilima after he left the ruling DPP in June this year and has expressed wish to contest against Mutharika in next year’s elections.

Henry Chingaipe, a political analyst questioned the move to call for the Vice President’s resignation, arguing the office is protected by the Constitution, describing the move as too much ado about nothing.

He said the Vice-President can only resign on his own accord and said absence of impeachment procedures mean the DPP cannot forcibly remove him.

However, another  political scientist  said it is hard to remove Chilima or ask him to resign from his position of State Vice President and it is not surprising that the group associated with DPP is calling for the resignation of the Veep.

“But if anything, the one who should be thinking of resigning from his position is President Mutharika. Here is a state president who is being implicated in corruption and he is still in office,” he said.

“President Mutharika first received K145 million from one Zameer Karim who is implicated in a K2.9 billion food rations corruption scandal at Malawi Police. The money is deposited into a DPP account which he is a sole signatory and he withdrew some of this money.”

“On top of that, the same Karim buys 5 vehicles worth K85 million and gives them to President Mutharika, in fact the cars are registered in the President’s name. This is one scandal that could force a sitting president out, but because Malawians are passive, that is why he is still President. If it was in other countries, Mutharika would have either resigned or would have been booted out,” said the political scientist who asked not  to be named.

“What is happening now for some people to call for the resignation of the Vice President is just a move to divert attention, because they know that it is President Mutharika who should be thinking of tendering his resignation now because of the issues surrounding his relationship with Karim.”

State House has maintained that President Mutharika did not benefit personally from Karim’s controversial donations.

But the analyst said many people  are  wondering that Karim has not been charged since these revelations came out.

“The DPP knows that it will be difficult to remove Chilima from his position as State Vice President. He was elected together with Mutharika and the processes of removing him is clearly stated in the Republican Constitution and there is nothing they can do and that is why they have resorted to using the ‘civil enterprises’ to call for his resignation.”

“At first some cabinet ministers tried to call for Chilima’s resignation but they failed. DPP needs to accept that Chilima has a contract with Malawians which will expire on 21st May 2019 and there is nothing they can do about it,” he added.

The pro-DPP  groups have also been calling for Speaker of the National Assembly Richard Msowoya to resign for joining the United Transformation Movement (UTM) led by Chilima, claiming  that by voluntarily resigning from the Malawi Congress Party  (MCP) and wilfully joining UTM, has crossed the floor against Section 65 (1) of the Constitution.

Lawyer Justin Dzonzi described the calls as “misguided” because Msowoya joined a movement that has no representation in Parliament.

The section punishes members of Parliament (MPs) who voluntarily quit political parties that sponsored them to Parliament and join another party also represented in the National Assembly.

In 2005, former president and founder of DPP Bingu wa Mutharika also voluntarily dumped the United Democratic Front (UDF) which sponsored his presidential ticket in the 2004 General Elections and formed DPP. However, he did not resign as Head of State.

Immediate past president Joyce Banda also formed People’s Party (PP) in 2011 after being expelled from DPP, but continued to serve as Stare Vice-President.

 

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Cashgate1
Cashgate1
6 years ago

Pumbwa 1

Kanyimbi
Kanyimbi
6 years ago

Mr History where were when dumped UDF it looks u were the first to thank Bingu for his resignation lero malaya athina coz is the opposite. Some pple blamed our legal interpreters that they didnt ask Bingu to resign so that we conduct fresh polls coz thats how Bingu could’ve had his real mandate not from UDF as he did. Mubvi yoyang’anira wakugwerani m’maso lero.

#DzukaniAmalawi
#DzukaniAmalawi
6 years ago

Let both stay put until their terms end. What’s the rush when we have elections just around the corner. The ballot should determine their fate.

History
History
6 years ago

Many of us just write comments or our views without properly analysing the real thing from A…let’s face it here…unlike in the past,Chilima wasn’t fired or dismissed from the ruling party…he himself decided to rebel against it by first resigning from the party then unceremoniously started a war of mistrust by injecting hateful and uselesly disrespectful speeches against those that put him on to the sit…the DPP as a party percevered by enduring his hateful , disrespectful speeches and accorded him all the respect as a vice president of the republic until when he went overboard with his useless outbursts….Chilima… Read more »

Make Malawi Great
Make Malawi Great
6 years ago
Reply to  History

U want him to support rapid corruption, He stood for what he believes for when he could? He still needs his retirement bread and butter if I was him I can’t be that stupid to work for 4 years for nothing either! Dpp turned him into a politician and hes doing what politicians do ask the Rev if he was preaching verses on the 4 Billion CDC funds in parliament he partied like the rest of the apumbwa! They are politicians and humans buddy not a Higher power!!

Bibo
6 years ago

Pumbwa Mr maliseche should be resigned amicably.

Costly Gogoda Chisale
Costly Gogoda Chisale
6 years ago

Mutharika Thief In Chief must go

chataika
chataika
6 years ago

a marion Banda be realistic; if it were you how could you manage the situation? Imagine that ur deputy manager is against u wil u continue assigning duties to him/her? APM can not delegate him any more bcoz he is attacking his boss’s regime under which he became VP. One becomes VP thru a party and not outside a party so the same party that sponsored him is the one that is attacking. Simply put he shud just resign as VP Mujuru under Mugabe watch did in Zimbabwe; thats the way to go wosati masanje akuchitikawa.

DR MANGA
6 years ago
Reply to  chataika

Dont comment on issues that are beyond your knowledge. Vice presidency is not an appointed position like a minister but an elected one. One does not become vice president because of a party . Be reminded that before becoming a running mate SKC was not a member of DPP.He was a running mate to APM not to DPP.UDF tried to do the same with bingu but failed. Be also schooled that in Malawi our system of choosing a president is presidential not parliamentary meaning that a president can contest even without a political party.A president or vice can even quit… Read more »

History
History
6 years ago
Reply to  chataika

Exactly

Mlosi
Mlosi
6 years ago

None should resign, no need to waste our tax money on legal battle we have six months to go we will judge on the ballot. Enough has been stolen from our tax including the salary of the VP let them continue doing so up to May 2019.

Reginald
Reginald
6 years ago

What we are saying is SKC should resign on ethical grounds because he is part of the corrupt government he is strongly accusing within and outside Malawi. APM can’t resign because he is the one leading the corrupt government that is according to SKC. You can remove him either through impeachment or the ballot box. So the issue of Constitution is not applying here and we should not hide behind the Constitution. If you are clean you can’t be part and parcel of the dirty team so he has to resign and vehemently attack this corrupt government

DR MANGA
6 years ago
Reply to  Reginald

Has APM given SKC a task that he has refused to do ???????????? SKC should not resign so that the DPP should learn that they should not play with a constitutionally established position.

If you have any evidence that SKC is not clean then bring it here .

matela
matela
6 years ago

anthu ena mumapereka maganizo opusa mukati opposition ndi akuba akuberani chani no sense.UTM 2019 BOMA

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