BLANTYRE (MaraviPost)–President Peter Mutharika has refuted and distanced himself from claims that he is supporting some candidates vying for the position of the General Secretary of the CCAP Blantyre Synod.
According to Malawi government spokesperson Kondwani Nankhumwa, some clerics are using the name of President Mutharika to canvass for support.
“It has also been confirmed that during the campaign in question some candidates are claiming that they have been given financial resources by the State President as proof that their candidature has been endorsed by His Excellency Professor Mutharika who, incidentally, is a faithful of the Blantyre synod.
“The truth of the matter is that His Excellency Professor Mutharika is not involved in the campaign, has not endorsed any candidate and is not backing any contender in the said campaign. He is just following the developments like any other faithful of that synod,” said Nankhumwa, who is also the Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture.
He said the President cannot be party to machinations of dividing the Church by siding with one candidate against another or “indeed sowing seeds of corruption” by supporting one candidate with financial resources to campaign against another.
“The President is of the firm view that the Church is a vital partner in assisting Government to fight corruption and cultivate unity among the people, two vital ingredients for achieving socio-economic development in Malawi,” he added.
He therefore advised all competing candidates to campaign in a manner that would give glory to God because it is Him they were called to serve.
“God is a strong advocate for unity and a champion against bribes. As such, as they campaign, let them edify, not divide, the body of Christ which is the Church, so that a united synod will contribute to inspiring the nation to respond positively to the call of unity of purpose,” explained Nankhumwa.
He also said government is still it committed to safeguarding their right to holding religious beliefs and expressing them without let or hindrance and that no member of the clergy should feel threatened or live in fear for holding their respective religious views.
Nankhumwa further appealed for religious tolerance and co-existence “because it is from living in diversity that we draw the richness that we need to expand the limits of our ideas and together achieve the distance of progress that our country badly needs”.
