Peter Mutharika let down by intelligence — Public Affairs Committee
Questions are now being raised over the capabilities of President Peter Mutharika’s intelligence team, days after his claims about an alleged plot to overthrow his administration.
The Malawi leader had singled out the Public Affairs Committee – PAC and Malawi Congress Party president Lazarus Chakwera, who doubles as Leader of Opposition, as masterminds of the operation, which according to Mutharika, had been disguised as public demos that failed to take place on December 13.
He made the remarks on Tuesday, during the ground breaking ceremony of Sogecoa Park in Blantyre.
Mutharika had no kind words for the opposition and Pac, saying the protests on the Electoral Reforms Bills were part of the plan to overthrow his government.
PAC representatives are, meanwhile, putting it bluntly that the president is being misguided by his informants.
PAC Publicity Secretary Peter Mulomole said it is shameful that a whole President would lie to Malawians by making such wild allegations.
“Pac has no intention, whatsoever, of overthrowing the regime…the President should stop playing cheap politics,” he said.
According to Mulomole, Mutharika as a head of state ought to behave in a respectful manner.
Chakwera also rubbished the claims by Mutharika wondering why the head of state was acting scared.
Critics also doubt the credibility of the allegations, with some of them accusing the President’s intelligence team of misinforming him.
Political Analyst Happy Kayuni added that the view by the President is not good for political consolidation.
“The President needs to appreciate alternative views and engage with other stakeholders. He should not look at them as destructive because a good leader needs to know how best to accommodate such views for the goodness of democracy,” said Kayuni.
However, Minister of information Nicholas Dausi, himself a former spy chief said the allegations by Mutharika are legitimate, genuine and founded.
“Previously, PAC told Malawians that it wanted to demonstrate against Electoral Reforms Bills and later said they wanted to reclaim their destiny. When analysing these facts, to reclaim means to take back what originally belongs to you from those that are illegitimately possessing it.
“In parliament, MCP MPs backed such sentiments which leads us nto conclude that the reclaiming they talked about was overthrowing the government,” said Dausi.
This is not the first time that the occupant of the highest office in the land has raised allegations about plans by his opponents to allegedly topple his government.
PAC organised demonstrations which were to take place on 13 December to force the government to table the Electoral Reform Bills but later postponed the march.
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