Writes Shamuda Drake

Saturday, 13 July 2024.

The following opinion is my own and has nothing to do with influence from any political party, party member or any individual but I am empowered by my entitlement to freedom of opinion to express what I call my expert views.

The infamous electoral partnership dubbed “Tonse alliance” that formed UTM Party and the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) a government since 2020 has finally reached a divorce on Friday 12 July 2024.

The duo successfullly executed their partnership to win the court sanctioned election following a nullification of the 2019 disputed election that was murred by rigging in which the electoral body was accused of Tipexing the results in favour of then ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Arthur Peter Muntharika.

Despite a thunderous victory but the weds did until the exiting of the spouse party on Friday 12 July 2024 not tell the publics and party members what is contained in the alliance agreement.

Although at one time before his sadden death in a plane crash in Chikangawa Forest in Nkhatabay district on 10 June 2024 Utm party president Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima had hinted of existing the alliance and showed discounted in which MCP has been running the agreement affair.

Chilima had revealed that the alliance agreement had a shared one five year term each with MCP president Dr Lazarus Chakwera a claim which some executive members of MCP are denying up to date.

This ending political week had begun with a headline on the end of the Tonse Alliance journey following an official announcement made by the Utm party’s Central Committee executive members at their party’s head office in the Malawi’s Capital Lilongwe on Friday.

This alliance demise should serve as a lesson to any political party in Malawi that would form any alliance without tangible and sustainable agreement.

Making the announcement Utm publicity secretary Felix Njawala and Party’s General Secretary Patricia Kaliati told the Malawi Press that after widely consulting with party lawyers the Central committee of the party has ended its alliance agreement with the governing MCP with immediate effect citing among other unstated reasons communication gap between the two partners.

Many people are still believing that without Utm, MCP would not get 50 plus 1 votes in the 2020 Malawi court sanctioned election that ousted Muntharika and his DPP.

Although MCP has been pretending to be a single winner of the most sought for 2020, 50 Plus 1 votes it remains undisputed that Utm was key to the Tonse alliance victory.

MCP members are feeling above governing and have no time to extend their gratitude to their political partner that bailed them out of 30 years from opposition benches in the Malawi Parliament.

This political Alliance divorce should not bring smile on the faces of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) supporters but should serve as a wake up call to the party’s strategists to start rebooting and upgrading their political system to overcome mountainous terrains that has been created by the Utm party’s exit and a subsequent systematic forfeiture of its 1 million votes from the MCP’s database.

This Divorce can render MCP destitute or destroy them as a Bridegroom that was dependent on their bride to make successful political achievements.

It is the Utm’s effect that influenced an electoral ousting of a previous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regime and replaced it with MCP.

While UTM is pretending to act as an orphan after the death of its party founder Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima, as a rejected stone and as saltless it still has an impact to make another King in the 2025 general election.

We should not be carried away by their political vulnerability, it still holds the right to found a new prince, lucky and potential political husband that could propose an electoral marriage ahead of the 2025 election.

The Bible story tells us when Jesus told both his followers and enemies “the parable of a rejected stone; “the stone that the builders threw away as useless it later became useful” for the right angling of a house corner.

Malawi Congress Party and its supporters should brace for even more tougher campaign to get 50 plus 1 votes in the 16 September 2025 general elections if its leadership will not humble themselves to go back to their Ex for a possible reconciliation talks.

There is one thing that every one must know; that the exit of Utm party has given headache to their partner no wonder MCP’s political strategist Dr Ken Zikhale Ng’oma has publicly expressed his fears citing the 50 Plus 1 qualifier as scary.

Dr Zikhale was speaking at Nyachenda hotel in Mzuzu during the week where he was engaging party delegates to vote for him as deputy vice president of MCP at the party’s Convention in August 2024.

No one knows that Ng’oma already knew about the Utm exiting, whose official announcement from the party headquarters in Lilongwe came a day after Zikhale labelled the winning qualifier as scary.

Utm party had 1 million plus votes during the 2019 disputed election and it is highly regarded as MCP’s Kingmaker that effected the crowning of the opposition party into a governing party following a resounding and overwhelming 50 plus 1 outcome of the historical 2020 court sanctioned election.

When parties are campaigning, they must be reminded that 16 September 2025 is waiting for any potential political party or alliance that will have mantra to get 50+1 to win the general election – it is all bestowed in a good and strategic campaigner to produce the next president.

There is a Chichewa proverb “pachoka mzako Pali malo” ( meaning when one has left, they have created space for new ones) for those that read a bible, you will never skip to read; “There is joy in heaven when one sinner turns to God.”

So too is the exiting of Utm party; can create opportunity to other parties of entering into an electoral alliance that could turn disastrous outcome on MCP’s results.

No one should undermine the angry, the orphaned, the divorced, desperate or disgruntled Utm supporters because they remain benefactor to a nutritional campaign ingredient that can produce another possible miracle winner of the next year’s (2025) elections.

MCP supporters should not rejoyce quickly and think that Utm is behind before they have crossed a flooding river since we do not have a survivor yet.

Lucky is the party that will partner Utm in the coming election because it shall get that most sought for 50+1 votes from the 1 million plus voters that it has forfeited from their partner.

Exit Tonse Alliance; enter another one but relevance of Utm in making a crown Prince can not go unnoticed.

Egocentrism may be a new disease in the dawn of modern political democracy being practiced by many politicians where a governing party is called a ruler and not a leader.

The political divorce of Utm and MCP can draw us an important lesson to learn from that undoubtedly the element of rulling by a governing party is what has impacted the alliance divorce.

On 10 June 2024, Utm party lost its founding president Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima to a plane crash in Chikangawa Forest who was going to attend a funeral service of a renowned lawyer, former minister and Attorney general Ralph Kasambara who also died in hotel a few days before.

Shamuda Drake is a professional journalist who is working with a renowned private radio station Zodiak Broadcasting Station in Malawi and has a journalism experience since 2013 having previously worked with over three media houses and other humanitarian organizations.

Email: drakeshamuda@gmail.com/shamudadrake824@gmail.com

Phone:+256991453680

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