Chilima’s Speech Ignite Hot Political Debate
Political party zealots busy going about soliciting endorsements for whoever they want to lead the Tonse Alliance come 2025 presidential election will have to strategies again if what the Vice President, Saulos Chilima has spoken is something to be taken into account.
Since the Tonse Alliance came into power in 2020 Chilima has not made any speech, something which many observers said was not good for his party UTM or himself as a politician.
While breaking the silence of the abnormal silence in his state of the nation address on Friday, Chilima made the point clear that it has been imperative to bear the responsibility that there shall always be only one president as stipulated by the republican constitution,
“I have been quite, I limit my powers as the state Vice President because doing otherwise will be like as if it is a reminisce of pulling government in a different direction, we have a nation to lead and we act towards progress,” Chilima said.
However, the Vice President did not dwell much on allegations of his involvement in corrupt practices with the United Kingdom based business mogul, Zuneth Sattar which led to president Chakwera withdrawing all the delegated responsibilities to him.
On the same note Chilima stated that this was the right time to amend the Constitution in order to remove the immunity which Presidents enjoy under section 9:1(2) of the Constitution so that everyone in Malawi can be prosecuted for criminal wrongdoings.
He also revealed that the electoral alliance UTM entered with MCP is a ten (10) year pact which will see each of the party’s leader ruling for five (5) years.
“The Presidents of the Malawi Congress Party and the UTM shall agree in writing who would be candidate and who would be running mate
“That subject to the decision of the national executive committees or conventions, as the case may be, of the UTM and the Malawi Congress Party, the presidential candidate during the fresh presidential election of 23 June, 2020 shall not be the presidential candidate during the immediate next election and shall cede the candidacy to the running mate in the fresh presidential election of 23 June, 2020p,” read pert of the agreement.
But later in the day, MCP officials convened media briefing in the capital city, Lilongwe refuting what Chilima disclosed saying they have no knowledge to what the vice president said earlier in the day.
However, a leaked Whatsapp message believed to have been sent by the party’s secretary general, Maurice Munthali cautioned the party officials conducting the briefing saying the president (Chakwera), lawyer Titus Mvalo and himself signed the said agreement with UTM.
For some months now, MCP officials have been going around conducting meetings across the country where some party zealots have been endorsing president, Lazarus Macarthy Chakwera as their 2025 presidential candidate.
