Fanfare as MCP, UTM alliance kicks off
When Malawi Congress Party (MCP) national director of youth Richard Chimwendo Banda shouted: Kwacha!! The crowd in unison responded, Tsogolo Lathu Labwino, Lowala, Lafika!
This was yesterday mid-morning of yesterday as MCP and UTM Party supporters gathered at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe to start a parade that marked the beginning of the day’s events.
A combination of the parties’ slogans of both parties were all around, confirming the alliance which would later be sealed by signatures of MCP leader Lazarus Chakwera and UTM Party leader Saulos Chilima.
Soon after the parade route of the parade was announced, the eager supporters took to the street singing and dancing while briskly walking as if to indicate they could not wait for the signing of the memorandum of understanding at Kamuzu Institute for Sports in Kawale.
There were no police officers in sight, yet there were no violent scenes despite the huge presence of youths who are often associated with chaos at political events.
At Kamuzu Institute for Sports, both parties’ women danced together as a symbol of unity. The UTM Party women in their red, white and yellow colours and MCP women in their red, green and blue cloth were joined by Freedom Party women clad in green, People’s Party women dressed in pink cloth with printed black locks, and specks of Mafunde women in maroon colour here and there.
On arrival, Chakwera and Chilima, in light of the coronavirus, greeted with the elbow people like Mama Cecilia Kadzamira, Mai Dinala of MCP, former vice-president Kumbo Kachali, former president Joyce Banda and other senior politicians.
In his speech, Chilima said the alliance does not mark the end of the involved parties.
He said: “Our coming together does not mean the parties in this coalition have come to an end, no. We have decided to unite and bring together all our strengths and capabilities to rescue this country from those destroying it. We want to change things in many areas.”
In his statement Chakwera assured the audience that “this is their alliance”; hence, those that need change have the alliance to embrace.
Said Chakwera: “This is your alliance. However know that the change you require won’t be given to you on a silver platter. You will have to demand it, so demand it and make sure that you get.”
