Saulos Chilima’s mafia-like tactics exposed in Mchinji by elections as DPP tumbles

MCHINJI (Maravi Post)—Vice President Saulos Chilima, him who is alleged to be sidelined in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was given a litmus test in the yet to be officially results of the by-elections involving a constituency in Mchinji, and ward councilor elections in Kasungu, Lilongwe, Dedza and Zomba.  He was to show to the DPP family that he was not trusted to be President Peter Mutharika’s running mate by mistake. To Chilima personally, the stakes in these elections especially, the Mchinji Constituency by-elections, which was the centre of attention, was high.

Chilima, who many believe played mafia like tactics, when he challenged during the build up to the 2014 elections that he will meet the then President Joyce Banda right in the computers to counter a rigging operations purported to have been hatched by former Malawi leader was at it again yesterday in Mchinji.

He dispatched his top aide, whom the daily Times front page story of today, has identified as Moses Kuchingale. This Kuchingale guy, in a carefully crafted mafia operation to rig the elections, was given putting on an official Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) tag on his jacket and was importantly introducing himself in the polling centres as a MEC official.

MEC officials have access to the voting materials—them being official personnel to run the elections in Malawi.  Kuchingale was seen moving around and having access to voting materials when the vigilant Malawi Congress Party officials smelled foul play.

When a presiding officer at Mchinji Secondary School polling centre was quizzed on the claims of Kuchingale as a MEC official, the officer feigned ignorance and noting that the kitchen was becoming hot; Kuchingale sped away in his Toyota Prado TX registration number MG 974 AB.

A  MEC official said it was irregular for someone who is not a MEC official to wear a tag with such identification.

Things came nasty at Kamwendo Polling station when MCP members of Parliament who included Director of Elections Maxwel;l Thyolera, Richard Chimwendo Banda and Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda cornered Kuchingale to demand an explanation on his mafia like tactics of putting on a Mec official tag when in fact he was not an officer of the electoral body.

To show how organized this mafia move was, Kuchingale, sensing danger that he could be sorted out by the angry MP’s, sped away, this time, in another Toyota Prado registration number BS 2090.

Another Chilima DPP operative was also taught manners by the MCP officials when he was found with a MEC reflector jacket, apparently in a move to rig the elections.

One wonders where these Chilima DPP operatives were getting official MEC working materials.

Unofficial results

The unofficial results of the Mchinji by-elections shows that DPP candidate has miserably tumbled to an MCP candidate who has won with a sweet landslide victory of over 10,000 votes to 4,000 votes.

‘Chilima is overrated perhaps because of his pretence as a humble and truly religious person. The guy is beyond a shadow of doubt a crook and mafia like as evidenced by this Mchinji botched operation.

“You cannot describe him any better than this. Perhaps this is why we hear that senior officials in DPP sideline him. They know he is up to something not good,’ said a social political commentator who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

Meanwhile, Chilima propaganda machinery is yet to spin over this reputation damaging incident.