By Burnett Munthali
Preamble
They say every road comes to an end, but sometimes the end feels just like the beginning. Even when you think you’ve come a long way, you can suddenly find yourself right back where you started. Because every journey is fraught with twists and turns. Life is a journey full of challenges and marked with twists and turns. It is also very unpredictable – full of fun, success, disappointments, joy as well as sorrows. The most intriguing part of life is ‘Unpredictability’! You never know what is going to happen tomorrow.
The Judgement
On Thursday 20 December 2023, High Court Judge Howard Pemba put spanners in Kondwani Nankhumw’a political ambitions of ever becoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) President as his ruling released strengthened the Arthur Peter Mutharika DPP camp where APM is seeking to be Presidential candidate in 2025. Fast backwards, Grezelder Jeffrey, Kondwani Nankhumwa, and Cecelia Chazama had been serving as the Secretary General, Vice president South and Director of Women respectively for the DPP until early this month when they were assigned to other positions by Peter Mutharika. As a matter of fact, Jeffrey was assigned to the position of Vice President Central and she received her letter and notice of communication to that effect on 8th December 2023.
The claimants wanted an interlocutory order suspending the decision of Peter Mutharika to remove them from their positions as Secretary General, Vice President South and Director of women of the party and/or assign them to the positions of Vice President Central, and presidential advisors until the determination of the matter in court or a further order of the Court .
“Listening to the arguments from both parties, and having thoroughly read the skeleton arguments motivated by the Sworn Statements filed in support as well as in opposition to the application herein, this Court is convinced on the balance of probabilities that the Claimants have failed to convincingly demonstrate to this Court that they have a good and arguable claim against the Defendants,” in part reads the ruling of the court.
The judge added:
“I have already made my finding that the Claimants herein have not been removed from their positions nor from the party. They are still members of the 3rd Defendant political party. What has happened according to the wording of Article 10 (8) is that they have been assigned different positions from the ones they were holding in the NGC of the 3rd Defendant. There is nothing substantial either showing that what has happened is a demotion as the Claimants want this Court to believe.
“I have gone through Article 10(8) of the 3rd Defendant’s Constitution and the clear wording of it is that the President has powers to assign a member of an NGC to any public or political office. The Claimants herein were members of the NGC by virtue of being the Secretary General, Vice president South and Director of Women of the 3rd Defendant respectively. Right now, they have been assigned to other positions of a Vice president Central and Presidential advisors within the same NGC. The Claimants would like to bring in some conditions to Article 10 (8) which do not exist. Going through the 3rd Defendant’s Constitution, there is no any subjection of Article 10 (8) to any other condition or Article within the Constitution. If the framers of the 3rd Defendant’s Constitution wanted Article 10 (8) to be subjected to any other condition such as that the member should be heard before being assigned to another position or that reasons should be given for the assignment; or that the Article should not be applicable to an elected position; and that it should only apply where the party is in government, the same would have been specifically included in the Constitution.”
Judge’s Conclusion
“On account of the reasons above, I am of the strong view that the balance of justice and convenience militates against the grant of the order of the interlocutory injunction sought by the Claimants. The Claimants’ application is accordingly dismissed with costs.”
Looking Back At The Long And Winding Road
In March 2022 Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Member of Parliament Shadric Namalomba obtained an injunction that stayed the appointment of a shadow cabinet in Parliament and stopped Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa from appointing DPP spokespersons in Parliament without party approval . Nankhumwa appointed a 33-member shadow cabinet in February 2022 and later replaced DPP spokespersons on finance and legal affairs with his appointees. The decisions were rejected by the DPP and Namalomba who is Member of Parliament for Mangochi South West and DPP spokesperson obtained the injunction.
The order obtained from the High Court in Zomba restrained Nankhumwa from discharging the duties of the office of the leader of opposition without consultation and written approval of DPP. It also barred parliament from recognizing the decisions made by Nankhumwa as leader of opposition in the absence of proof in writing that the decisions were approved by the DPP. Nankhumwa’s decision to change seating plan of DPP MPs by allocating Namalomba to Seat Number 99 and later Seat Number 100 from Seat Number 25 has also been stayed by the court order. The court also stated that any person or entity affected by the court order and wishes to vacate it should give Namalomba a 48-hour notice.
In November 2020 Embattled Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa and his “DPP rebels” returned to the High Court in Lilongwe on December 9 to battle it out with their party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on the leader of opposition case. Nankhumwa’s lawyer Gilbert Khonyongwa has confirmed that Nankhumwa, Grezelder Jeffrey and Jappie Mhango will be in court on November 9 to ask the court to extend Nankhumwa’s court injunction which bars the party from firing him as Leader of Opposition in parliament.
In December 2020 The High Court sitting in Lilongwe adjourned indefinitely a case involving former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Southern Region vice president Kondwani Nankhumwa and three others to allow them exhaust their discussions outside court. Nankhumwa, Yusufu Nthenda, Jappie Mhango and the party’s Secretary General Gelzeder Jeffrey were kicked out of the party on disciplinary issues but the four obtained a court injunction against the party’s decision. Lawyers for DPP and Nankhumwa and others appeared before Lilongwe high court where they have asked the court to allow them resolve their disagreements outside courtroom failing to reach a compromise the court will proceed to hear the matter.
My opinion
Therefore let me say this, Nothing stands forever! Every battle must be fought and come to an end, no matter how long it takes and this is probably the end of a season of court injunctions by the embattled Presidential Advisor Kondwani Nankhumwa and newly appointed Vice President Grezelder Jeffrey. However, there are only two options remaining, it’s either Kondwani Nankhumwa and his camp go and apologize to Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika and start working together with the DPP as a team and stop this fruitless battle they have engaged themselves into or they should continue being defiant to their President and party then get kicked out forever at the convention. The choice is for Kondwani Nankhumwa and his team to decide now.
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