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Aford grassroots supporters in the Northern Region say they feel betrayed by and are confused with the move by their president Chakufwa Chihana’s pull out of the 2004 presidential race and declaration to support UDF candidate Bingu Mutharika.
Most Aford supporters we talked to in random interviews in Rumphi, Chihana's home district, Mzuzu and Nkhata Bay said this week they feel they have been taken for a ride by Chihana’s declaration that Aford will support President Bakili Muluzi chosen heir without consulting them.
They say Chihana should not impose on them a person they do not know and like.
Senior Chief Themba Katumbi of Rumphi said Chihana should have consulted people at grassroot level before declaring publicly he will not stand as president and that Aford will support Mutharika.
“People are confused with what Chihana has done and I fear they do not know what is happening and they will have problems in making the right decision when voting. Many people want Chihana to stand or quit Aford to allow other people to stand,” he said.
Themba Katumbi said people are concerned that Chihana does not want to stand for the presidency saying in 1999 he did the same when he chose to be Gwanda Chakuamba’s running mate in the MCP/Aford alliance.
“A party with a president who does not aspire to become a state president cannot deliver anything. People are saying: 'Chihana must stand as presidential candidate for his party and not impose on them someone else',” says Katumbi.
An Aford councillor in the Northern Region’s Mzuzu City speaking on condition of anonymity said if Chihana feels he has gone past his political game, then he should step down, and accused Chihana of being a dictator who wants to treat Aford as a personal estate.
“As a councillor and in touch with the grassroots, I am very disappointed with Chihana. He did not even bother to consult us. We are confused. People are asking us what they should do next for they do not know what is going on.”
He said supporting and working with UDF is not a bad idea but selling the party’s presidential dignity is unacceptable. He must step down and join UDF without playing hide and seek. There is nothing wrong with that. He has the right, but he does not have the right to think and talk for people,” said the Mzuzu Aford councillor.
Group village headman Kayiwale from Chozoli area in Chief Chikulamayembe in Rumphi Central Constituency where Chihana comes from said people in his area are confused and do not know what to do next because they were not consulted.
“A party president must always consult people at grassroots level for their views. But if Aford and UDF have ‘amalgamated’ and have come to a consensus where they have appointed one person, then I have no problem with that,” he said.
Pastor in-charge for Church of Christ in Rumphi, Symon Zgambo said Chihana’s move is an infringement on people’s right of choice.
“Of course, the Northern Region is less populated than the other regions but if Chihana says he cannot stand because we are a minority, then he is violating our freedom of choice. We want him to be president and that is why we voted for him as a Member of Parliament as well as the party president,” he said.
Village headman Wongani Gama of Sub T/A Yohane Jere in Inkosi Mtwalo Mzimba said Chihana is not being fair with Aford supporters at the grassroot level because they want him to stand for the presidency.
An Aford Area committee member from Mpamba in Nkhata Bay North-East, Maxon Mhone said a leader does not elect himself and questioned why Chihana has left aside people who elected him. What Chihana is doing is evident enough that he has failed to run the party,” he said.
An Aford Member of Parliament from Karonga who did not want to be identified said Chihana has run out of ideas and that he is just taking anything into the party.
Said the MP: “The problem is that Chihana thinks that he is Aford and that he can do anything at will. The people must be involved in every decision for the party to forge ahead.”
But councillor for Bumba Ward in Chihana’s constituency, Khumbo Kumwenda, said although the people may not have been consulted, he does not see anything wrong with Aford supporting the UDF candidate in the elections next year, saying a government of national unity is instrumental to developing the country.
Aford spokesman Norman Nyirenda said in an interview Thursday Chihana’s decision is final and nobody else should question it.
“Chihana as (Aford) president has the mandate to decide for the people. We are on the right track and anyone against the idea of endorsing Bingu as a presidential candidate is an enemy of development in this country,” he said.
Nyirenda, however, claimed the people at the grassroots level were consulted and that they will be told everything in detail during the party's convention.
Nyirenda's remarks contradict his earlier statement that the party would come up with a position on whether or not Chihana will contest the presidency during the party's convention to be held in September.
But councillor for Bumba Ward in Chihana’s constituency, Khumbo Kumwenda, said he does not see anything wrong with the arrangement saying a government of national unity is the answer for the development of the country.
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