“Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”1 Chronicles 16:22
In 1995 the newly elected United Democratic Front Government with President BakiliMuluzi called for a national Constitution Conference that brought to Lilongwe Malawi’s stakeholders made up of political and traditional leaders, private and public sector captains and the media. I recall as a representative from the media being part of this august group that designed our Republican Constitution. The Chair of the Conference was current President Peter Mutharika, then a law professor in a US university.
The draft document was later taken throughout Malawi to get the citizens’ approval for the draft. It was later passed by the Parliament and the Constitution entered into force following the rigorous process – draft to citizen vetting to Parliamentary debate.
In Chapter III and specifically Section 80-90 speaks to the matter of the Vice President; the section was altered to cater for the addition of the office of the Second Vice President, a position that has only been occupied by ChakufaChihana when he and his AFORD party joined the ruling UDF party.
The office of Vice President is a portfolio that Malawians have struggled with these 23 years since Malawi gained democratic status; Malawi is struggling with the VP office for the simple reason that for the 31 years that Malawi was under the autocratic rule of President Kamuzu Banda, there was no provision for the post of Vice President. In fact, even portfolios of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Agriculture were held by President Banda.
Then enter Gwanda Chakuamba, in the dying days of Malawi Congress Party 31-year reign; he was the first Vice President of Malawi, a necessity that came about due to failing health of President Banda. Chakuamba’s exit out of the Malawi Congress Party was due to inner party wrangles that resulted him ditching the party left to him by Kamuzu and forming his own party, the Republican Party.
Since the country’s independence, Malawi has had Chakuamba (VP to Kamuzu Banda), Malewezi (VP to Muluzi), CassimChilumpha (VP to Binguwa Mutharika), Joyce Banda (VP to Binguwa Mutharika), Kachale (VP to Joyce Banda) and Chilima (VP to Peter Mutharika). Malawi has been served by five presidents and six vice presidents (Bingu had two), and in all administrations, by the end of the presidential terms, there have been major altercations between every president and his/her vice president. Sometimes the scrimmages have been overt where the president and his vice president are seldom if at all, in the same place. In many cases, the smoke is most visible among the president’s close political party allies.
The political machine’s both in one party and multi-party environments, have been closing in and literally choking the office of a Constitutionally-constituted portfolio as the Office of the Vice President. The party die-hards are behaving unconstitutionally and the inaudible responses of the presidents have amounted to support for the abuse of the Office of the VP and in a word allowed for the political party officials to grow in power, with some examples of some of them having vast powers over and above the de jure and de factor Second in Command of the country.
The Constitution is very clear on the Office of the Vice President which says:
| – | 80.2 Every presidential candidate shall declare who shall be his or her First Vice-President if he or she is elected at the time of his or her nomination.
The First Vice-President shall be elected concurrently with the President and the name of a candidate for the First Vice-President shall appear on the same ballot paper as the name of the Presidential candidate who nominated him. 86.1 states that The President or First Vice-President shall be removed from office where the President or First Vice-President, as the case may be, has been indicted and convicted by impeachment. The procedure for impeachment shall be as laid down by the Standing Orders of Parliament, provided that they are in full accord with the principles of natural justice (to be accomplished through a 2/3 vote in Parliament). …. Whenever the President is incapacitated so as to be unable to discharge the powers and duties of that office, the First Vice-President shall act as President, until such time, in the President’s term of office, as the President is able to resume his or her functions.
The Constitution clearly outlines three ways in which the President or the Vice President impeachment, resignation, or death. We do not wish any of these for our Vice President. |
Malawi should take a leaf from the outgoing US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden team formula for a successful and lasting political alliance, an alliance that highlights how a united front filled with laughter, quick quips made the Obama-Biden team a highly-respected administration. This formula allowed for president and his vice president to go through rough patches, but could move on, move forward. No one got between them – either from party or other operatives.
Malawi is not going to scrap the Office of the Vice President, it is highly advisable that the President defends the Constitution by throwing his weight behind his Vice President, to save the Office of his number two, whom he chose and made us embrace. In fact, his election was a joint ticket – the Mutharika-Chilima ticket.
Bwana President, while party politics are part and parcel of our democratic culture, political party functionaries must join you in leading us to respect and love our living, breathing Constitution that created the office of the Vice President. This is genuine democracy.