By Rick Dzida
Malawi is facing a major crisis of honesty and leadership. President Peter Mutharika has secretly travelled to South Africa four times in less than a year since returning to power in October 2025.
The State House refuses to tell the public why he is going, how long he will stay, or who is paying for these trips. This is a total insult to the citizens of Malawi. The government thinks it does not have to answer to anyone, but they are completely wrong.
As Kaiyatsa from the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) rightly asked, Malawians deserve to know the truth. We cannot sit quietly while our country is ignored.
A President can never have total privacy when travelling to another country. Even if the government calls it a “private visit,” the President travels with state-funded bodyguards, intelligence officers, and diplomats. Because state resources, staff, and security are used to plan and protect him, these trips are a public matter, not a private one.
Right now, the government is operating in a dangerous, lawless way. Section 87 of the Constitution of Malawi is very clear. If the President leaves the country or cannot do his job, the Vice-President must officially take over the powers of the presidency.
Instead of following the law, the Chief Secretary, Justin Saidi, simply signs a vague paper saying the President has left the country. They do not officially hand over power to the Vice-President, Jane Ansah. Running a whole country through secret phone calls from South Africa breaks the law and puts the nation’s security at risk.
However, who funds the so called private trips? The government claims these are personal trips, but they are hiding the truth. In the past, we have seen hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on presidential travel allowances and medical costs. If the President is paying for these trips with his own personal money, Section 12 of the Constitution says the government must prove it. They must show the receipts to prove no public money is being stolen.
Section 15 and the Access to Information Act give every Malawian taxpayer the right to know how their money is spent and if their leader is healthy enough to run the country.
It must be appreciated that Malawi is suffering from a massive economic crisis. We do not have enough foreign currency, prices of goods are too high, and our roads and buildings are falling apart. Spending taxpayer money on secret travel is a slap in the face to poor Malawians.
Therefore, it is deeply unfair for President Mutharika to fly to South Africa for world-class medical care while Malawian hospitals lack basic medicines, electricity, and clean water. In fact, it is a wake up call for the sitting President Mutharika to consider investing in good quality healthcare system in our country.
In conclusion, the word “privacy” cannot be used as an excuse to hide the truth. President Mutharika is an employee and number one public servant to the Malawian people. The State House belongs to the citizens, not to the President’s family.
We therefore demand an immediate financial audit to see every single Kwacha spent on these four South African trips. We further demand to know exactly who is in charge of Malawi when the President packs his bags. Malawians will no longer pay for expensive secret trips while the rest of the nation suffers.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor
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