As Malawi barrels toward its most consequential election in recent memory, a dark cloud of suspicion looms over the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential ticket.
While the face of the campaign is former President Arthur Peter Mutharika, who at 86 struggles to stand unaided, the real question every Malawian must ponder is: Who exactly are we being asked to vote for?
For weeks now, reports from inside the DPP have spoken in hushed tones of a plan so brazen it borders on cynical that Mutharika, if he somehow wins the presidency, will serve only as a ceremonial figurehead, propped up for photo-ops and campaign rallies, while day-to-day power rests with a clandestine group comprising his running mate Jane Ansah and longtime confidant Norman “Pythius Hiwa” Chisale.
It is an arrangement more akin to a royal regency for an incapacitated monarch than a democratic mandate, and it reeks of a scam of historic proportions.
The Sunday Njamba Freedom Park rally offered a live demonstration of this farce.
As DPP supporters gathered to hear their leader, they were greeted by the shocking sight of an ailing Mutharika unable to disembark from his vehicle. Instead, he delivered his speech seated in an open-roof vehicle, while senior party officials occupied the podium intended for him.
The embarrassing spectacle confirmed what the nation has been whispering for months. APM’s health is in rapid decline, and his ability to serve, should he be elected, is a practical impossibility.
Yet the DPP has insisted on forging ahead with Mutharika as its flagbearer, not out of faith in his capacity to govern, but as a cynical calculation.
After all, who among Malawians would knowingly vote for Jane Ansah, discredited architect of the 2019 elections fiasco or Chisale, a man dogged by allegations of corruption and brutal repression during the DPP’s last term?
By slapping APM’s name on the ticket, the DPP appears to believe it can trade on residual nostalgia or tribal loyalty, then slip in their real operators once the votes are counted.
But then, Jane Ansah’s checkered legacy is fresh in Malawians’ minds. As Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson, she presided over the botched 2019 elections that were later nullified by the Constitutional Court, triggering nationwide protests and nearly a year of political unrest.
Her stubborn refusal to resign until the bitter end and her chilling silence in the face of overwhelming evidence of irregularities cemented her image as the face of electoral impunity.
Yet, in the DPP’s calculus, Ansah offers two key advantages. She’s a lawyer with a polished public persona, and as a woman from the Ntcheu in the central region as such her presence on the ticket gives the illusion of regional and gender inclusivity. But behind the facade lies a figure who has already proven willing to undermine Malawi’s democracy to serve partisan interests.
Should Mutharika win on September 16, Jane Ansah would ascend to the presidency under the Constitution. Are Malawians ready to entrust the highest office in the land to someone whose past actions nearly tore the country apart?
While Jane Ansah may become the public face of a post-APM DPP administration, few doubt that the real strings would be pulled by Norman Chisale. Once Mutharika’s powerful bodyguard and chief enforcer, Chisale wielded outsize influence during the DPP’s 2014–2020 rule.
His name has been linked to everything from state capture to intimidation of journalists and those who seem to cross his path, and his sudden accumulation of unexplained wealth through grand corruption.
Since APM’s exit from State House in 2020, Chisale has been dogged by court cases and asset seizures, yet he remains a permanent fixture by Mutharika’s side.
Insiders say Chisale has been central in shaping the DPP’s 2025 campaign strategy, controlling access to APM, coordinating security arrangements, and managing finances. In essence, Chisale is the gatekeeper to Mutharika and, should events unfold as many suspect, could become the de facto ruler of Malawi if the DPP triumphs.
It’s a scenario every voter must soberly consider. Would a Chisale-backed administration herald a return to the dark days of corruption, intimidation, and unaccountable power?
To be brutally honest, Malawians are being exposed to a fraud through this sham of a presidential ticket. Everything begs the ultimate question. When voters mark their ballots on September 16 for the DPP’s presidential ticket, who exactly are they voting for? The fragile former president? The controversial ex-electoral commissioner? The shadowy strongman with a tainted record?
The more one examines the DPP’s current configuration, the clearer it becomes that Malawians are being asked to buy a pig in a poke.
Mutharika is the smiling portrait on the campaign posters, but his frailty makes it obvious he cannot meaningfully serve. Ansah and Chisale hover in the background, positioned to step in as soon as Mutharika is named the president-elect.
This cynical arrangement amounts to electoral fraud in spirit if not in law. It is a con in which voters believe they are electing a proven, if elderly, statesman, when in fact they may be handing power to two deeply compromised figures with questionable commitment to democracy.
Mutharika’s handlers have tried to deflect attention from these concerns with makeup artists, photo ops, and highly curated public appearances.
A recent exposé revealed that the DPP had hired a South African-trained makeup artist, Maria Maibazi Perreira, to mask APM’s deteriorating appearance during key events including his much-publicized meeting with outgoing US ambassador David Young, which was leveraged by DPP propagandists to portray Mutharika as vibrant and healthy.
But the scheme fell apart when Perreira quit over unpaid fees totaling MK34 million. Her abrupt departure exposed the DPP’s desperate and unethical attempts to hide the truth from Malawians: that Mutharika is unfit to withstand the rigors of a campaign, let alone lead a nation.
It is no exaggeration to say the outcome of September’s election will determine the trajectory of Malawi’s democracy for a generation.
In the past four years, the country has made halting but undeniable progress in governance, fiscal transparency, and judicial independence. Allowing a DPP victory that installs a puppet president only to crown discredited figures would risk reversing all those gains.
Moreover, a presidency hijacked by behind-the-scenes actors would deepen Malawi’s culture of impunity, send a signal that voters can be manipulated with illusions, and fuel apathy and cynicism in future elections.
This is not just about the DPP; it is about setting a precedent for whether Malawians will tolerate leaders who lie about their capacity, or demand honesty and accountability.
Ultimately, this election is a referendum on more than a party or an individual; it is a referendum on Malawi’s future. Every citizen who loves this country should look beyond campaign slogans and glossy posters to see the reality lurking behind APM’s frail figure. We must ask: if this is the plan they are willing to show us, what are they hiding?
For all their faults, Malawians are not fools. The DPP may believe it can run a Potemkin campaign with Mutharika’s face while Ansah and Chisale prepare to seize real power. But every vote cast in September will answer a simple but profound question: will we endorse this scam, or will we reject it to protect the hard-won integrity of our democracy?
As the countdown to September 16 continues, the DPP’s internal chaos, the visible decline of its standard-bearer, and the dubious figures waiting in the wings should alarm every Malawian.
The stakes are clear: this election is not just about Peter Mutharika’s name on the ballot, but about whether we are willing to risk placing the country into the hands of Jane Ansah and Norman Chisale.
When you stand in the voting booth, remember: this is your power, your country, and your future. Use your vote to demand leaders who are honest about their health, transparent about their plans, and committed to serving Malawi, not hiding behind an ailing man to advance personal ambitions.
Because on September 16, it’s not just a vote for APM you’ll be casting, it could very well be a vote for Ansah, Chisale, and the dangerous politics of deceit.
