UTM’s Mtumbuka condemns Chisale’s ‘whipping’ threat as politics of a bygone era

Dr Matthews Mtumbuka, MP for Rumphi Central and UTM’s presidential running mate, has hit back at deputy security minister Norman Chisale over remarks threatening to have opposition members physically punished, dismissing the comments as a throwback to an era Malawi has long since moved past.

In a post on Facebook, Dr Mtumbuka directly challenged Mr Chisale over his earlier warning that UTM members risked being “whipped” if they continued what he described as their political touring of the country.

“Muyamba kutitani a UTM? This is not the 1980s — it’s 2026,” Dr Mtumbuka wrote, invoking the memory of Malawi’s one-party era under former president Hastings Kamuzu Banda, a period widely associated with political repression and intolerance of dissent.

He went on to frame the exchange as a broader choice facing the country’s politics.

“No to politics of destruction, damage, death! Yes to debate and development!” he said.

The remarks come after Mr Chisale, who also serves as President Peter Mutharika’s personal bodyguard and is regarded as a key enforcer within the governing DPP, told a public gathering he was seeking the backing of traditional chiefs to discipline UTM members he accused of stirring unrest.

Dr Mtumbuka’s intervention adds a further voice to mounting criticism of Mr Chisale’s comments, which have already drawn condemnation from rights groups and opposition figures concerned over the tone of political rhetoric.

Neither Mr Chisale nor the ruling DPP has responded directly to Dr Mtumbuka’s remarks.