Vincent Nundwe back as Malawi Defence Force commander

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)–Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has brought back General Vincent Nundwe to the position of the country’s military chief in the Malawi Defence Force (MDF).

Chakwera made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon during his periodic address to the nation.

Nundwe was sacked by the former president Peter Mutharika for allegedly not paying allegiance to the then DPP administration during protests against his reelection in the May 2019 general elections.

Protesters who took to the streets protesting the outcome of the polls reported enjoying support and protection of the army. Major opposition voices also spoke in glowing terms of the role the army was playing in the protests.

In several instances when the police and protesters had clashed, the army had stepped in to restore order and calm and protected demonstrators.

Nundwe declared that his “priority is to ensure that Malawi is sovereign as well as peaceful.”

But for the president Mutharika’s supporters, the army was soft on protesters and Mutharika responded by firing him.

He was replaced by General Peter Namathanga.

Maneno Chimulala

I am a journalist, educator, and activist with passion for telling stories about social justice, sports and political issues. I graduated from Mzuzu University. I started my career at the Maravi Post online publication in 2012 as an intern while in college. Upon graduating from Mzuzu University I was offered a job as Sports Reporter because of my background as a goalkeeper and rose to the position of sub editor. I also had a short stint with Nyasatimes, Malawi Punch and Malawi Digest. Over the past seven years, I have worked intimately with rural organizations and communities in Malawi on human rights, girl child education and grassroots development projects. With an academic background in education, I also volunteer as male champion for girls’ education under Girls Empowerment Networks (GENET) in Malawi’s South West Education Division (SWED).