PP forces T/A Bvumbwe to apologise for rebuking Malawi ruling party officials

Ruling People’s Party (PP) officials led by Brown Mpinganjira on Tuesday approached Thyolo District Commissioner, Lawford Palani and asked him to organize chiefs in the district to apologise to President Joyce Banda over the remarks Traditional Authority (T/A) Bvumbwe made at Judge Joseph Manyungwa’s funeral in Thyolo Sunday.

Mpinganjira held the meeting with Thyolo Chiefs at District Education Manager (DEM) office in in the district and reportedly told them that President Banda is set to dethrone Bvumbwe and replace him with Group village headman Boyidi.

Minister of Local Government Gertrude Maseko has instructed the Thyolo District Commissioner to sideline T/A Bvumbwe in any government functions.

The Thyolo chiefs were bundled onto a Toyota Land Cruiser offered by the Thyolo DC and driven to Blantyre where an abrupt news conference was organised by the Ministry of Information and Civic Education at the Central Office of Information (COI).

At the news conference, Senior Chief Chimaliro said the chiefs travelled to Blantyre to apologise to the President on behalf of T/A Bvumbwe over his remarks.

The chiefs were given allowances by government for their ‘work.’

Chimaliro said T/A Bvumbwe should not have rebuked the President in public.

“Inkosi Bvumbwe could have come in person but he is ill. That’s why he sent us to relay his apology to the President and it is our sincere hope that we will have an audience with the President to relay our apologies in person,” Chimaliro said.

He further alleged that Bvumbwe spoke under the influence of alcohol but when pressed to substantiate his claims, he backtracked as he said it was just his opinion.

T/A Bvumbwe rebuked PP officials for distributing party T-shirts at the funeral of Judge Manyungwa. President Joyce Banda was in attendance and Bvumbwe told her to discipline PP officials involved.

He told President Banda that the distribution of the party memorabilia at the burial ceremony of a Judge was degrading act from the PP.

“[Madam President] I want to say what has happened here. Your boys were distributing T-shirts. This is bad and degrading. It should never happen again. This should never happen again, if you want, hold a rally and distribute the T-shirts there,” the youthful traditional leader reportedly said.

As T/A Bvumbwe made his speech, PP regional director of youth (South) Lemani Chapitapansi, who was involved in the distribution of the T-shirts even to the local grave diggers, cast his face down.

Most mourners supported the chief’s statement and they clapped hands for him.

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