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2 DPP MPs defy APM

Two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators have defied former president Peter Mutharika’s order for party members to stop using the portrait of the late Bingu wa Mutharika on campaign posters.

Barely a day after Mutharika warned DPP vice-president for the South Kondwani Nankhumwa against using Bingu’s face in his party presidential race campaign, Mwanza West legislator Joyce Chitsulo and Blantyre City South East member of Parliament (MP) Sameer Suleman produced similar posters.

Chitsulo: People love DPP because of Bingu

In separate interviews, the two said neither Mutharika nor the entire Mutharika family own the portraits of the DPP founder.

Suleman, who also chairs the Agriculture Committee of Parliament, said it was not a crime for DPP members to use the face of their party’s founder on any poster.

He said other political parties in the country such as the Alliance for Democracy uses the portrait of its founder Chakufwa Chihana as does Malawi Congress Party with the image of Kamuzu Banda while People’s Party uses the face of former president Joyce Banda on its party regalia.

Suleman: We can use Bingu’s potrait

Suleman said: “This has nothing to do with Bingu’s picture, but to do with Nankhumwa’s camp. They [the party leadership] are preaching unity and peace, but not in good faith. We are sure that if the said poster was released by [former Reserve Bank of Malawi governor] Dalitso Kabambe, APM would have been happy.”

Kabambe is one of the six aspirants for the DPP presidency to replace Mutharika.

Suleman said Mutharika has played his part and time has come for him to leave the stage. He said Mutharika should emulate former Zambia president Edgar Lungu who has relinquished power to other people within the Patriotic Front (PF).

He said an early convention would not be targeting Mutharika, but positioning DPP better for the 2025 Tripartite Elections.

In a separate interview, Chitsulo, who is chairperson of Public Appointments Committee of Parliament, said it was laughable that Mutharika was taking Bingu as a family property when he is the founder of DPP. She said all DPP regalia bears his face.

She said Mutharika’s statements show that the recent reconciliation effort between him and Nankhumwa camp was cosmetic.

Chitsulo said: “In DPP, we are playing too much! I wonder why people seem so afraid of Nankhumwa.

“This habit of writing press statements anyhow is watering down seriousness in the party. People are now laughing at us because of some of these things.

“They are saying we should not use Bingu’s face, yet people love the DPP because of Bingu, not some of the other leaders. There is nothing wrong in using Bingu’s image. He is the founder and we love him.”

But he and DPP spokesperson Shadric Namalomba said in an interview that the two simply want to find a way out of the party.

He said: “The DPP will not tolerate indiscipline. We will take action against all those defying Mutharika’s directive.”

Namalomba also warned that those advancing the candidature of Nankhumwa will be dealt with.

“If people don’t want to follow proper counsel from the party president and think they can be clever, let them get out of the party. They can form their own party,” he said.

Political commentator Humphrey Mvula said in an interview that if Mutharika has any issues with Nankhumwa the best he should have done was to engage him privately instead of issuing public.

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