Gwanda wants JZU as Muluzi’s runningmate
BY MIKE CHIPALASA
12:56:05 - 27 August 2007

Disgruntled former MCP president, who is now New Republican Party (NRP) leader Gwanda Chakuamba has asked his former party’s MPs, supporters and people of Central Region to encourage John Tembo as UDF Bakili Muluzi’s presidential runningmate during the 2009 presidential polls.

Chakuamba said this Sunday during a rally in Lilongwe where he was co-addressing a UDF rally with Muluzi.

He noted that the battle to oust President Bingu wa Mutharika was tough and needed concerted efforts from all opposition parties.

“I ask Mr John Tembo to accept Bakili Muluzi to be number one and he should be number two during the 2009 presidential elections,” he said.

“I also ask people of the Central Region to accept this. MCP should not forget that I was with you. Let Bakili Muluzi be together with Tembo and should always be together.

“They should be allowed to go to Nsanje and address a rally like this one,” said Chakuamba, attracting nods of approval from Muluzi.

Chakuamba publicly admitted failing to be president of this country and repented that he would never try again to contest as a President.

“We all want to be presidents, if I am not clever enough I will die like a prisoner. I never know, maybe I am remaining with two, three or four years, you never know. So, this is the only chance for me to eat what is given to me,” said Chakuamba to roars of ululations and laughter from the crowd.

Chakuamba was once MCP leader and became the party’s flagship carrier during the 1999 elections before he dumped it to head the Mgwirizano Coalition of parties in the 2004 elections. He lost both elections.

After losing the 1999 polls, power struggle reigned supreme in MCP with his vice Tembo over who should be calling the shots in the once mighty party.

The power bickering resulted into the two leaders holding parallel conventions in Lilongwe, despite Tembo being warned in a court injunction sought by the Chakuamba camp against holding one.

Tembo defied the injunction, forcing the rival Chakuamba camp to drag him to court for contempt.

The Lilongwe High Court ruled that Tembo’s convention was illegal and effectively convicted him, which forced the Speaker of Parliament then, to boot him out of the House as an MP.

But the MCP leader bounced back in the House after he launched an appeal in the Supreme Court.

The power battle in MCP did not end there. Tembo went full throttle to eliminate Chakuamba as leader of opposition in the House and this worked out to his favour.

Chakuamba, finding the MCP kitchen heat unbearable, bowed out and formed his Republican Party (RP) to enable him contest as a president for the 2004 Mgwirizano Coalition.

But Chakuamba dissolved and deregistered RP upon being roped in by Mutharika into DPP, as first vice president.

He left DPP and formed his other party, New Republican Party (NRP), which he now heads.

Chakuamba and other opposition party minnows are currently on a campaign trail to endorse Muluzi’s comeback as president after 10 years of what analyst say, was an era of reckless economic plunder, from 1994 to 2004.

Gwanda said a strong league with MCP would give Bingu political nightmares in 2009.

However, we could not get Tembo’s response to the offer as his mobile phone went unanswered.

The phone for MCP’s spokesman on parliamentary affairs Ishmael Chafukira could not be reached. mba.

Meanwhile, Muluzi has instructed his UDF MPs currently debating on the budget to camp at Parliament until the issue of Section 65 is resolved.

Muluzi has also instructed his MPs to reject budgetary allocations for TVM and MBC, saying the two public broadcasters were using taxpayers money to castigate Malawians.

He has also threatened his MPs would reject a vote for Ministry of Agriculture, if the Mutharika’s DPP goes ahead in intimidating chiefs that government would shun them if they attended opposition rallies.