Critics Rebuke Endless Wrangles in DPP

Critics are describing the non-stop squabbles in the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as a significant setback for governance in Malawi.

Political bickering persists in the former governing party, DPP at a time the country needs a strong opposition to provide checks and balances to the MCP-led Tonse government.

Currently, DPP presidential aspirant Kondwani Nankhumwa has sued the party for a record 18th time, claiming favouritism towards the party’s incumbent leader, Peter Mutharika.

‘’The party should iron out all differences before its upcoming elective convention if the outcome is to be accepted by all” says Chimwemwe Tsitsi, a media studies scholar from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS).

Tsitsi has pointed out that the leadership wrangles in the DPP will only end after the 2025 elections, predicting that political bitterness will be the order of the day after the elective convention.

‘’Should Nankhumwa lose at the upcoming convention, for instance, he will frustrate the agenda of the party in parliament using his position as the leader of opposition in parliament,”explains Tsitsi.

The DPP is yet to officially announce dates for its convention ahead of the 2025 polls, but the court ordered the party to hold its convention within 90 days from mid December last year.

A Nankhumwa led faction appointed him as the party’s torch bearer but the side argues that there is a lack of fairness in the playing field.

In the party’s presidential race, Nankhumwa will face Mutharika at the convention.