If there is a politician in Malawi, who has been praised for being
principled, that man is Gwanda Chakuamba.Gwanda Chakuamba has acted in a manner that has forced Malawians to
conclude that he cannot be bought by monetary incentives. In fact Gwanda Chakuamba has returned twice the money that he was given
by Bakili Muluzi.Most recently, Gwanda Chakuamba declared that he will resign after one
term of office as president, in the event that he was victorious in the
polls.On the other hand, he said he would retire when he loses.
However, after he lost the presidential race, Chakuamba made U-turn and
said he was not ready to retire, because, according to him, he did not
loose the elections. Subsequently, he filed a civil suit, challenging the outcome of the
polls. He also declared that he did not recognize Bingu Wa Mutharika as
president.
While all this was in motion, last Monday, Chakuamba accepted to meet
Muluzi at his BCA hill house, where he was offered a lucrative deal by
the former head of state, Bakili Muluzi. The result has been that Chakuamba and his seven party Mgwirizano
coalition have been wooed into a government of national unity, with the
UDF. With this revelation, it is most likely that even the independent MPs
will cross the floor and join the UDF.
This will effectively leave Malawi Congress Party and the National
Democratic Alliance as the parties in opposition. The GNU will have a majority in parliament. All this puts the integrity of Chakuamba to question. I am compelled to
question Chakuamba's principles.
Firstly, because I fail to clearly see, why he could dump his colleague,
John Tembo in opposition after declaring that all the opposition parties
have agreed to work as one with Tembo as their leader. The actions of Chakuamba clearly proves that he is not ready to work
under MCP president, John Tembo.
I can speculate that after Chakuamba weighed his options, that is
working under Tembo as leader of opposition and working under Bingu Wa
Mutharika, Chakuamba opted for the latter. This decision, it can be argued, was not reached at through principles.
Principles fail here because the same Chakuamba has dragged the same Wa
Mutharika to court over the elections results. Reason is much behind
Chakuamba's move. Again Chakuamba had to look at his retirement from
politics. Retirement is about money and it is an open secret that
despite his principles, Chakuamba did not earn enough from his being in
opposition, to warrant him a comfortable retirement.
In politics, principles are derived from the aspirations of the people
and it is imperative that politicians act according to the whims of the
people. The landscape of the just ended elections clearly indicated that people
did not want the UDF to continue to rule this country.
Gwanda and the Mgwirizano coalition have therefore gone against the
wishes of the people of Malawi. Politics of punishment seem to be the order of the day in Malawi. It was
clear that with the set up, resulting from the May 20 elections, MCP who
were mandated to lead the opposition in parliament were also tipped to
grab the speaker's post in parliament.
This would have been possible with the support of Chakuamba's Mgwirizano
coalition. But was Chakuamba sincere in this arrangement? His working
relationship with John Tembo did not suggest that he could authorize his
votes (RP) to elevate Tembo's party.
Basically, because the emoluments from these posts would not have
spilled to the other parties, especially in the Mgwirizano Coalition. On the other hand, Bakili Muluzi, who has been at the center of
negotiations for a government of national unity, could not approach John
Tembo, because he was instrumental in the failure of the third term bid
for Muluzi. Chakuamba who is looking for retirement cannot be blamed for joining the
UDF. That is where he can earn a luxurious pension and live happily
thereafter.
However, the question is what will happen to the seven parties that are
in the coalition. Are they going to pull out in the GNU and contest in the 2009
separately? Have they not learnt a leaf from what happened to Alliance
for Democracy?
If indeed Chakuamba moves on to the UDF, then he has betrayed Malawians.
What about the people that died in the demonstrations soon after
Electoral Commission declared Bingu Wa Mutharika winner of the polls?
Did they die in vain? Or simply put, what has changed in the UDF to
convince Chakuamba to work with them again the wishes of the people? The nation's interest cannot be put to ransom because of a leader's
retirement.
Chakuamba is not being sincere here. At first, when he was asked about
the meeting with Muluzi by the press, he said he heard rumors but
yesterday, the same Chakuamba said the meeting took place and that they
refused the UDF offer. What is true? This Malawi is too small. Chakuamba and other Mgwirizano
Coalition leaders must watch their steps.
Malawi can not be held to ransom because of Gwanda Chakuamba.
No one is bigger than Malawi!