In a blistering takedown of what he calls “political opportunism at its most rotten,” political and social commentator Dickson Kashoti has slammed opposition parties—particularly UTM and the DPP—for what he describes as “malicious lies” and “funeral-season propaganda” over the government’s plan to construct a memorial pillar at Nthungwa in Chikangawa, where Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others, including former First Lady Shanil Muluzi, tragically perished in a plane crash.
Kashoti, never one to mince words, calls the noise from the opposition “a circus of shame” designed to derail a noble tribute into a petty political punchline. “Let’s be clear,” he says, “this memorial is not for Chilima alone. It is for everyone who died on that dark, rainy morning. And no, the government doesn’t need UTM’s permission to honour its fallen heroes.”
According to Kashoti, top brass from UTM and DPP have been “whispering sweet sabotage” into the ears of the SKC family, encouraging them to boycott the June 10 memorial event in what he calls “a childish, heartless strategy to humiliate President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera ahead of the September 16 elections.”
“Let them try,” he sneers. “They are barking at the wrong grave.”
Kashoti goes on to torch the narrative that there was friction between Chakwera and Chilima. “Nonsense,” he says. “They were political brothers. Chakwera respected Chilima, and Chilima flourished under Chakwera. This was no hostile office. This was camaraderie.”
In contrast, Kashoti paints a brutal picture of Chilima’s time under the DPP regime, claiming that Peter Mutharika and his “cadet militia” harassed and hunted Chilima simply for daring to speak out. “He feared for his life back then,” Kashoti claims. “And now those same people want to rewrite history and pose as mourners? Spare us.”
He concludes with acid on his tongue: “If Dr. Chilima were alive today, he’d be on the frontlines, campaigning for Chakwera—not hiding behind UTM slogans. And as for Dalitso Kabambe and his crew? Let them come. Malawi will show them the exit door come September. Ndiope ndani?”
The game is on. The masks are off. And Kashoti just lit the fuse.
