Brewing demonstrations planned by DPP-backed Citizens for Credible Elections in Mzuzu on Thursday, June 26, have been strongly denounced by key opposition parties including Atupele Muluzi’s United Democratic Front (UDF) and an alliance of four political parties from the northern region.
Enock Chihana’s Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), Freedom Party (FP) of former Vice President Khumbo Kachali, National Development Party (NDP) led by Frank Mwenefumbo, and Victor Modhlopa’s newly registered Solidarity Alliance have jointly dismissed the demonstration as a ploy of DPP’s political convenience that they refuse to endorse.
At the forefront of the rejection of DPP’s stunt, UDF leader Atupele Muluzi accused the former governing party of exploiting opposition parties for its own ends.
“These are DPP-backed demonstrations, they just want to use opposition political parties for their own greedy and selfish gains,” said Muluzi, during one of the whistle-stop meetings held in Ntaja, Machinga.
AFORD’s Enoch Chihana, speaking during a rally in Lilongwe, echoed the sentiments, stating that the Northern Region has repeatedly been used as a political stage for DPP theatrics, often disruptive to local business and community life.
“Mzuzu is tired of this. These demonstrations end up damaging property and hurting business. The question that we are all asking; why are these demonstrations always being organized in Mzuzu, why not Lilongwe or Blantyre,” Chihana said.
The other three northern-based parties, the FP, the NDP and Solidarity alliance have also joined the denunciation, accusing the DPP of staging “outsider-driven protests.”
The demonstrators, organized by Citizens for Credible Elections led by activist Silvester Namiwa, are set to march across Mzuzu and are targeting the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC). However, a recent exposé by the Pangolin Online disclosed that Namiwa and Edward Kambanje, another key person in Citizens for Credible Elections are being funded by the DPP with the main aim of inciting violence and destabilizing the forthcoming September 16 elections.
And at the centre of it all is Norman “Pythius Hiwa” Chisale and the DPP Vice President for the Central Region Alfred Gangata who is said to be the main financier of the demonstrations plan.
The opposition leaders have criticized the DPP of lacking transparency, questioning the “authenticity” of the demonstrations.
Chihana declared: “These are not genuine civic protests; they are political setups meant to entrap us, use us and later dump us.”
A week ago, the FP, NDP, and Solidarity Alliance officially formed a Northern Region electoral bloc, pledging unity to the people of the region “or risk political irrelevance.” The leaders of the three parties, Kachali, Mwenefumbo, and Madhlopa vowed to prioritize governance, equitable development, and regional dignity and not unnecessary demonstrations that only benefit a few greedy civil society activists like Namiwa and Kambanje.
“Mzuzu is tired,” said Madhlopa. “The DPP keep staging these events here while ordinary vendors lose business and property is damaged.”
This displeasure over the demonstrations and DPP stunts emerges amid serious tension over the party’s ongoing alliance gambit.
DPP leaders, including Spokesperson Shadrick Namalomba and Secretary General Peter Mukhito have made it abundantly clear: any alliance must involve DPP controlling the top two leadership positions—the presidency (Mutharika) and vice presidency (Gangata).
This approach has alienated would‑be partners like UDF, AFORD, and UTM, who see it as self-centered and contrary to democratic coalition-building.
Muluzi has recently come out declared the DPP as “selfish and greedy,” saying the party’s rigid, take-it-all approach has “derailed all hopes of an alliance.”
Similarly, Chihana decried the DPP’s unrealistic, arrogant demands, and the monopolistic attitude.
Now, according to Muluzi, it is surprising that the DPP is seeking the support and endorsement of the same “useless” political parties to stage the demonstrations.
While UDF, AFORD, and the other northern trio have firmly opted out of the Mzuzu demonstrations, both the UTM and Joyce Banda’s People’s Party (PP) have remained non-committal.
Political insiders suggest that UTM, under Dr. Dalitso Kabambe, may be waiting to see if DPP offers a compromise, such as the vice-presidential slot, to keep them onside.
The planned demonstration, while couched in civic tones, risks backfiring spectacularly. Mzuzu residents have already warned that they will not be part of the demonstrations as they disrupt trade, create insecurity, and impose curfews.
The recent Pangolin Online exposé revealed the shocking plot spearheaded by the DPP in collaboration with Namiwa and Kambanje through leaked audios from a WhatsApp group operated by Citizens for Credible Elections.
The audios capture Kambanje candidly admitting that he and Namiwa were summoned to a strategic meeting by the DPP which was disguised as a routine consultation but turned into a briefing session for a “coordinated campaign” against MEC. He told the members of the group that DPP is ready to fund all activities related to demonstrations which according to the plan will also be staged in Blantyre, Mangochi and Zomba.
The agenda, as outlined in the audios, is to pressure MEC to allow the opposition to audit its electoral database and stop the use of Smartmatic technology. The plan further wants to discredit MEC Chairperson Justice Anabel Mtalimanja and eventually force her to resign.
The Citizens for Credible Elections claim to seek transparency. But critics argue their real mission is to serve DPP interests by creating a narrative of electoral fraud before any votes are cast. By attacking MEC, the DPP is effectively sowing seeds of doubt in the minds of voters, laying the groundwork to dispute unfavourable results, as the party knows that they do not have what it takes to win the elections in September.
