Deposed UTM president-cum-State Vice President Michael Usi has said he will not appear before the UTM disciplinary committee, which is scheduled to meet with him today, describing the party’s leadership as irregular.
Usi made his position known Sunday, when he addressed his followers—who were clad in UTM and Umodzi Party regalia—at his Mudi State Residence in Blantyre City.
Last week, UTM issued a statement demanding that Usi appear before its disciplinary committee.
The summons, signed by UTM director of legal affairs Charles Thole, allege that Usi has behaved in a manner that provokes or is likely to provoke divisions within the party.
Additionally, the Vice President is accused of supporting a political organisation or party other than an organisation that is in an alliance with UTM.
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The disciplinary hearing has been scheduled for the UTM head office in Lilongwe.
“You are at liberty to appear before the committee with the company of your counsel. Your absence will be construed as a lack of defence and the committee will enter a verdict against you without further ado,” the statement reads.
On the particulars of the charge, UTM alleges that Usi mobilised supporters who were wearing UTM regalia at a government event despite the termination of the political coalition between UTM and the governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
Additionally, it is claimed that Usi, during a voter registration mobilisation meeting in Mwanza District, urged his followers to support and vote for the MCP by echoing the party’s slogan “Boma ndi lomweli”.
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But Usi sounded defiant Sunday.
“I am not going [to the disciplinary committee meeting] because as far as I am concerned, they do not exist and they don’t exist because they are not legitimate for not following [provisions of] the [party] constitution [when organising the elective party convention that was held in Mzuzu City]. So, me appearing before them is akin to recognising them as legitimate leaders of UTM,” Usi said.
Usi said if UTM wanted to do something to him, they were free to do so— so long as they were not playing hide-and-seek games “because they have been beating about the bush for quite a long time, saying they will invite or summon Dr Michael Usi for this and that but they never do it. So, what I am saying is, do not spend your time just talking. Do what you want to do and I don’t mind.
“I am a leader in my own right and I know what to do; so, I cannot be with people that do not respect the party’s constitution. I have nothing personal against individuals in UTM, but the issue is about ethics and legality,” Usi said.
The State Vice President also urged the UTM leadership to be transparent by coming in the open and explaining how K61 million the government provided to facilitate former president Saulos Chilima’s funeral was used.
On the issue of the presence of Umodzi Party president and that party’s members, Usi said there was nothing new because they had been working together in the Tonse Alliance.
“We have been together in the alliance and there are more parties that are coming to work with me,” he said.
Umodzi Party president Thomas Kaumba said they had been working together, only that the administration of UTM at that particular time was not accommodative.
“This time, we have seen that Michael Usi is friendly and accommodative and we are also impressed with the way he has been helping the State President [Lazarus Chakwera].This time around, we are working with Usi and the people that are following him,” he said.
In his response, UTM spokesperson Felix Njawala said what Usi said at the Mudi meeting was an indication that “he has motives to dismantle what Chilima passionately built”.
“As for the K61 million report, it is shocking to see him complaining when he was the one who directed how the funds were to be utilised.
“He was our president at the time and every transaction bore his authorisation. In fact, he possesses the report,” Njawala said.
