…..Mutharika must discipline Chihana
The reported public speech attributed to Enoch Chihana, Second Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, remarks that deploy derogatory language against the Chewa people while celebrating the denial of fertilizer to certain citizens—represent a grave moral, political, and constitutional failure of leadership.
Such speech is not only offensive; it is dangerous.
Malawi is founded on the principles of national unity, equality, and non-discrimination, as enshrined in the Constitution.
Any senior public official who demeans a tribe or rejoices in the deprivation of citizens violates both the spirit and letter of that Constitution.
Tribal identity in Malawi is not a crime, and access to public resources, especially life-sustaining agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, is not a political reward to be granted or withdrawn on the basis of ethnicity.
It must be clearly stated that President Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika did not ascend to office on the votes of his tribesmen alone.
He was elected through the collective trust of Malawians from all regions and all tribes, including the Chewa, who, despite differences in language, culture, and historical background, placed their confidence in him to govern fairly and to care for all citizens without discrimination. That trust was not tribal; it was national.
To mock or celebrate the exclusion of citizens,particularly Chewa, from fertilizer support is to mock hunger, poverty, and hardship. It trivialises the suffering of small-scale farmers whose survival depends on agriculture.
When such remarks come from the Second Vice President, they legitimise intolerance, embolden tribal hostility, and fracture an already fragile national fabric.
The implications of this conduct are profound and far-reaching.
Tribalised rhetoric from senior leadership normalises division and risks undoing decades of effort to build a united Malawian identity that transcends ethnicity.
It creates a dangerous perception that government programmes are not national interventions, but tools of exclusion, punishment, or political vengeance.
When leaders rejoice in deprivation, they sow resentment that can escalate into social unrest, hostility, and long-term political instability.
This conduct clearly exposes a moral failure of leadership. Leadership demands empathy, restraint, and statesmanship.
Public celebration of suffering is irreconcilable with democratic values and the principles of servant leadership.
For these reasons, silence from the highest office would amount to acquiescence.
The President of the Republic has both a constitutional and moral duty to act decisively.
At a minimum, the President must publicly caution and reprimand the Second Vice President for conduct unbecoming of his office.
However, given the seriousness of the remarks and their capacity to inflame tribal divisions, mere caution is insufficient.
To safeguard national cohesion, uphold constitutional values, and affirm that tribal hate speech and dehumanisation have no place in public office, the President, Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika should relieve Chakufwa Chihana of his duties as Second Vice President.
Malawi deserves leaders who unite rather than divide, who alleviate suffering rather than celebrate it, and who govern with humility, responsibility, and respect for every citizen, regardless of tribe.
Public office is a sacred trust, not a platform for contempt.