DPP fires warning shots
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has warned that it will unleash members of its youth wing popularly known as cadets on their opponents, who allegedly plan to cause chaos and incite violence during their planned demonstrations in Zomba today, Lilongwe and Mzuzu later in the week.
DPP Administrative Secretary, Francis Mphepo, issued the warning during a press briefing at the party’s Southern Region office in Blantyre yesterday where him and secretary general (SG), Grezelder Jeffrey, alleged their intelligence had established that some political organisations intend to disturb their organised ‘Restoration of justice’ marches.
The two claimed that such groups have bought party regalia similar to that of DPP to distribute to non-party members who would infiltrate their protests for purposes of violence and intimidation.
Mphepo said although their leader Peter Mutharika encourages peace and tolerance, they will not tolerate provocation.
“Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika has said ‘if someone provokes you, ignore them’, we have done that ourselves, but you see they are specifically talking about the Northern and the Southern regions. My brothers and sisters avoid being used by these disgruntled people, but if we are provoked, we shall be able to defend ourselves. We have cadets who will deal with them…”
“We know our members and if you put on a DPP T-shirt under the pretext that you are our member when you are not, we will deal with you and don’t blame us.”
Mphepo then described such organisations and their members as failures.
Speaking before Mphepo, Jeffrey said DPP is exercising its right of holding peaceful demonstrations to express their dissatisfaction with courts and that no one should take advantage of their strategy to dent their image.
“Every political party has the right to execute strategies that it deems helpful for them. It is not right for someone to disturb us; if this continues we will rise. I am warning them, we don’t want any nonsense. Malawi is a democratic nation,” Jeffrey said.
Reacting to the allegations, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) spokesperson, Maurice Munthali, described the allegations as unfounded.
“Malawians are aware that DPP is synonymous with violent acts and they are actually pointing fingers at themselves. The change that people want in this country is because we are all fed up with a government whose only weapons they hold are violence, nepotism and stinking corruption,” Munthali said.
UTM spokesperson, Chidanti Malunga, said: “This is what they do all the time during elections they made allegations of terrorism without evidence. For us it is one of the stories that come and go. No one would risk their lives to put on DPP regalia and join their protests.”
From Monday, DPP followers have been conducting protests aimed at presenting their grievances, protesting the Constitutional Court’s judgement which nullified the May 21 2019 presidential elections.
