MULANJE, Malawi (Aug 27) – The opposition camp is tearing itself apart just weeks before polling day, with UTM leader Dalitso Kabambe unleashing a scorching attack on Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chief Peter Mutharika, calling his record “a legacy of failure, division and betrayal of Malawians.”
Kabambe accused Mutharika of bungling every ministry he ever touched: failing to solve the University of Malawi academic freedom crisis, triggering forex and fuel shortages after expelling the British envoy, watching the judiciary collapse during a prolonged strike, and entrenching the divisive quota system that treated Northerners as “second-class citizens.”
An elder in Mutharika’s Thyolo stronghold twisted the knife: “Mutharika failed when he was younger, sharper, and full of energy. Today he is old, tired and out of touch. If he couldn’t deliver then, what miracle will he perform now when he is frail and senile?”
The open warfare between UTM and DPP has left the opposition looking like crabs in a bucket — clawing each other down instead of climbing out. Political analysts say the bickering is a godsend for President Lazarus Chakwera, who has kept his Malawi Congress Party focused on its 50%+1 mission.
As Kabambe and Mutharika trade insults, Chakwera projects himself as the steady hand, barnstorming the country with promises of development and unity. His rallies swell with energy, while his rivals stumble under the weight of their own infighting.
With just weeks to go, the message on the campaign trail is stark: while the opposition devours itself, Chakwera marches like a man already measuring the curtains for a second term.
