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DPP followers march against Kalindo

 

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) followers marched to the district commissioner’s (DC) offices yesterday and presented a petition to President Peter Mutharika for the removal of Mulanje South legislator Bon Kalindo (DPP).

The estimated 300 people peacefully marched, under close watch of the police, for about two kilometres from Chitakale Trading Centre to the DC’s office to hand over their two-paged petition.

Protesters seen with placards in Mulanje on Wednesday

During their march, they carried placards denouncing Kalindo, widely known by his stage name Winiko, while chanting, among others, “Winiko achoke! Winiko achoke! Waipitsa pogonera pake!” for purportedly acting against the party procedures by pushing for the candidature of Vice-President Saulos Chilima as DPP torchbearer in the 2019 Tripartite Elections.

The people have petitioned Mutharika, DPP regional governor for the South Charles Mchacha, Mulanje DC Charles Makanga, Mulanje Police Station officer-in-charge and the parliamentarian himself.

The petition was received by Mulanje District Council chief administration officer Grey Mkwanda.

The petitioners, some of whom were seen being ferried to Chitakale on trucks, were led by DPP governor for Mulanje Urban, Saizi Muonekereni. The march was attended by several chiefs from the constituency.

In their petition, the people expressed their disapproval with Kalindo, saying they no longer want him for the “hurt and pain” he had inflicted on them since his election as member of Parliament (MP) in 2014.

Kalindo: I am not moved

They claimed everything the legislator was telling the nation did not come from the people of Mulanje South as he had never conducted a meeting to solicit their views.

They gave DPP politburo three days to remove Kalindo from the party and provide them with a shadow parliamentarian for the constituents to work with.

Reads in part the petition: “Following what Bon Kalindo had been doing to condemn Mutharika and the DPP, the people of Mulanje South Constituency in conjunction with all the chiefs are saying he is no longer our MP.”

Addressing the crowd after receiving the petition, Mkwanda assured the people his office would swiftly act on their demands by delivering the petition all the concerned authorities by either yesterday or today.

In an interview later, Muonekeni said the people were no longer interested in Kalindo for insulting the integrity of the party and its leadership.

However, when queried on whether the people had the mandate to remove an incumbent MP from the party, Mkwanda said the DPP “would decide by acting on the people’s demands by using its powers”.

Reacting to the issue, Kalindo said in an interview he was not moved because the people who protested and presented the petition did not come from his constituency. He alleged they were ferried from Thyolo, Phalombe, Chiradzulu and the surrounding constituency.

He said: “I am answerable to my people and not those strangers. That is a sign of panic for the DPP and its leadership, the party does not know what it wants to do. They cannot prevent me from mobilising people to vote for Chilima in 2019.

“So, I am not shaken and those people let them do whatever they want, whether they want to kill me they are welcome and I am ready to die for Chilima.”

But when contacted yesterday, DPP secretary general Grezelder Jeffrey said the party could not comment anything on the issue because they were yet to be served with the petition.

The event saw tens of heavily armed riot police officers as well as plain-clothed most of whom had travelled from Blantyre.

Reports within the district indicated that the officers had also been patrolling residences of Kalindo and that of DPP director of women Patricia Kaliati at Nkando Trading Centre on Tuesday night following intelligence reports that some people had plans to set them on fire. Kaliati is also suspected of being pro-Chilima.

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