BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Former President Bakili Muluzi’s dialogue antics with the Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) over mass demonstrations to force beleaguered Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson to resign are meant to negotiate for his son, Atupele to be included in cabinet, we can reveal.
Insiders said the three man delegation which President Peter Mutharika sent to meet Muluzi at his BCA residence in Blantyre on Sunday was told that if Muluzi manages to convince HRDC to stop the demos, then his son will be considered for a cabinet position.
“Muluzi quickly jumped at the proposal seeing that his son has nothing to do now after losing the presidential elections in May and his party, the UDF being reduced to a small party after managing to get only 10 seats in parliament.
“The former president will fight for his son to get a job, he has always done that anyway,” said the source privy to the deal.
The three, Ben Phiri, Brown Mpinganjira and Francis Mphepo are said to have assured Muluzi that Mutharika will take care of Atupele if the demos are stopped.
However, Muluzi’s fight for his son’s ministerial post hit a snag during his meeting with HRDC leadership on Tuesday in Blantyre when they rebuffed his proposal to postpone the demonstrations and give him 7 days to meet authorities and resolve the matter.
It took Muluzi one day to invite HRDC leaders to a meeting but it will take him seven days to arrange a meeting to meet Mutharika and Ansah over the issue, a political analyst observed.
“I do not think Muluzi is being sincere, he is doing this for his own selfish reasons. I do not think it will take him 7 days to arrange a meeting with Mutharika and Ansah. He is being manipulative as he has ever been,” he said.
A senior UDF member said the party has now lost direction as its president Atupele Muluzi is not giving direction and hope of rebuilding the party.
“We are like lost sheep with no leader,” said the member who did not want to be named.
Insiders in the Muluzi family said things are bad for Atupele as he has ‘nothing to do’ after losing the elections.
“He is just staying at his Nyambadwe home, taking the kids to schools and picking them up later when they knock off. His father has even given him a vehicle to use, a Land rover 3 registration number AAM 1.
“The vehicle he was using was a government one because of his position of a cabinet minister. But as usual he is looking for his dad to take care of him,” said a family member in an interview in Blantyre.
Muluzi will have to work harder to stop the demos to get his son a job