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MCP faction defies court
By
Joseph Langa - 24-06-2002 |
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Malawi Congress Party vice president John Tembo’s camp went ahead with a convention at Natural Resources College in Lilongwe defying a High Court order on Friday which stopped them from holding the meeting.
The convention, held on Saturday and yesterday, elected John Tembo as president, Peter Chiwona as first vice president, Maclean Ndafakale as second vice president, Kate Kainja as secretary general, Mathews Pemba as treasurer general and Louis Chimango as director of legal and campaign affairs. All but Pemba’s positions went unopposed.
Party president Gwanda Chakuamba, treasurer general Hetherwick Ntaba and all others in their camp did not attend the convention and described it as illegal and unconstitutional.
Chakuamba said in an interview, the judgement of the court was that there was no convention and they (Tembo camp) are doing so against the court order.
“I cannot go to a convention, which is convened unconstitutionally’’ he said.
Chakuamba added that according to the party’s National Executive Committee, the convention was not supposed to be conducted before conducting regional, district and constituency committee elections supposed to precede an annual convention.
“So, it’s not a convention as such. It’s illegal and unconstitutional,” he said.
High Court Judge Mackson Mkandawire Friday sustained an order he made earlier last week stopping the faction from holding the convention, saying the convention has not been called by the party president as required by the party’s constitution.
But newly elected publicity secretary Binton Kutsaira said they decided to conduct the convention despite the court order because “the party cannot be ruled by the courts”, saying the party is driven by the interest of its supporters.
“The holding of the convention is the demand by supporters not a demand by the courts. We can’t always be dancing to the tune of the courts. We have to dance to the tune of the supporters of the MCP. So if the party has got to move it has to be to the tune of its supporters. The courts do not put someone to position,’’ he said.
Kutsaira said all previous seats in the party have been declared vacant following the convention, saying the party will now be run by the new executive elected on Saturday.
“Anybody who hasn’t come to the convention is regarded as somebody who has withdrawn and doesn’t have any interest in the party. Therefore, he loses his position completely and that in the National Executive Committee,’’ he said.
He said Chakuamba and others in his camp are now free to join any political party of their choice or remain in the party outside the NEC.
Said Kutsaira: “We don’t mind. They are free to join any party. But for the MCP, now its closed for them and they have lost their position because delegates from all over the country are here,’’ he said.
But Chakuamba dismissed Kutsaira’s remarks and said nobody can declare his position vacant because there was no convention apart from a lawless gathering called by lawless people.
“He (Kutsaira) doesn’t know what he is talking about. Our lawyer is going to take up the matter because it is against the court order,” he said.
Tembo has meanwhile accepted his position as the party president. In his acceptance speech yesterday, he emphasized that he will do everything possible to steer the party towards the right position in the interest of its supporters.
Other people elected were Charles Kamvere as vice treasurer (unopposed) after losing the post of vice treasurer to Pemba, Felix Mwakianjala as deputy secretary general (unopposed) J. Kayira as deputy publicity secretary (unopposed), Daniel Mlomo as director of political affairs after beating Makala Ngozo who automatically became deputy, Dorothy Chirambo as director of women’s Affairs after beating Lucy Tembo who became deputy, Damazio Shumba as director of youth after beating Kapolomsungeni Manda who became deputy. |
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