By Rick Dzida
The constitutional order of Malawi is under direct, unmitigated assault by lawless political manoeuvres that threaten the very bedrock of our democracy.
The recent side-lining of First Vice President Jane Ansah is not a mere administrative hiccup or a minor internal friction; it is a calculated, toxic, and aggressive affront to the supreme law of the land.
When President Peter Mutharika travelled to Blantyre, constitutional mandate—not personal favouritism or political pettiness—dictated exactly who should steer the ship of state.
By deliberately bypassing the First Vice President in favour of Second Vice President Enoch Chihana to chair the Cabinet meeting, this administration has staged a bloodless coup against legal precedent.
Therefore, Dedza Kasina MP Joshua Malango’s fiery intervention under Standing Order 69 was not just parliamentary theatre—it was a necessary, roaring demand for accountability against a rogue executive apparatus that is actively cannibalising its own governance structures.
The executive authority of Malawi does not belong to a political clique, nor does it bend to the whims of personal hatred.
Section 12 of the Constitution of Malawi explicitly mandates that all political authority derives from the people and must be exercised solely to serve and protect their interests.
When state actors allow interpersonal toxicity to dictate executive governance, they actively betray the trust of the electorate.
In fact, the Office of the First Vice President is a sacred constitutional creation, not a dispensable employment position that can be frozen out or hollowed out by executive temper tantrums.
The hierarchy of power in Malawi is crystal clear, designed specifically by the framers of our democracy to prevent the exact type of chaotic, lawless power plays we are witnessing today.
Section 79 of the Malawi Constitution establishes the Office of the Vice President and Second Vice President to assist the President.
Section 80 cements the democratic mandate, ensuring these offices are bound to the executive function by law.
The Constitutional Order of Precedence dictates that in the immediate absence of the President, the First Vice President is the rightful, lawful proxy to execute state functions, including chairing Cabinet meetings.
To purposefully leapfrog First Vice President Jane Ansah—who was fully available, and legally willing to fulfil her duties—in favour of the Second Vice President is an illegal, rogue restructuring of state hierarchy. It simply reduces the supreme law of the land to a playground rulebook.
The Minister of Justice cannot hide behind executive privilege; the nation demands a public confession of this constitutional bypass.
As patriotic Malawians, we reject the normalization of political pettiness at the expense of national stability. Internal government rifts cannot overrule constitutional obligations.
The state cannot pick and choose which sections of the constitution to honour based on who is on speaking terms with the authority.
In conclusion, the Office of the First Vice President must be respected, protected, and fully utilized as demanded by the laws of Malawi.
Lastly, we demand that the Minister of Justice provide immediate answers to Parliament.
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