By Mercy Matonga
President Peter Mutharika in his capacity as Chairperson of the Southern Africa Development Corporation (Sadc) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation Friday held a meeting with the leadership of the Sadc Panel of Elders.
At the meeting, Mutharika spoke on the need to foster peace and stability in the regional bloc.
The delegation was led by former president of Tanzania Jakaya Kikwete who chairs the panel and Malawi’s former president Joyce Banda who is serving as Vice chairperson.
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The two former heads of State visited Mutharika at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe to brief him and seek guidance on the on the panel’s ongoing work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Mozambique.
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Addressing the delegation, Mutharika described the panel’s work as significant to the region’s peace and stability.
“We are all connected as a region, and conflict in one Member State affects us all. Maintaining regional peace and political stability is therefore of paramount importance,” he said.
Mutharika also advised the panel to ensure they involve the locals in their activities.
“It is highly recommended that the citizens in the countries affected by the conflicts are part of the solutions. In so doing, they own the process and the resolutions,” he said.
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Kikwete expressed satisfaction with the discussions and the direction received from Mutharika.
“We have had very extensive discussions. We have also got very insightful and precise advice from the President. We are coming out of this meeting today re-energized.,” Kikwete said.
He further applauded Mutharika’s leadership, particularly regarding the panel’s mediation efforts in Madagascar.
“It’s under his leadership and instructions that we sent Joyce Banda to Madagascar and she’s now handling the docket there,” he said.
On her part, Banda, who is leading peace mediation efforts in Madagascar following the political transition in September 2025, described the meeting as a significant moment.
She also said that Mutharika had endorsed her appointment for the role, making her the first woman to mediate peace in the country.
“I am serving as the person in charge of the mediation in Madagascar under his leadership. But we have not had the opportunity to come and brief the chair. Because to start with, for me to go to Madagascar, Professor Mutharika, endorsed my name. And so for me, this is a special day that I came and met my chair,” she said.
She added that the meeting had yielded a clear path forward, strengthening coordination between the panel and regional leadership.
“What we did this morning is to get out of this place with that forward looking strategy,” she said.
Malawi was elected to head the Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation in August 2025.
