The leadership of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) Livingstonia Synod has firmly rebuffed attempts by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to mobilize clergy from the Synod to visit former President Arthur Peter Mutharika at his Page House residence in Mangochi.
Sources have revealed that this covert operation, seemingly aimed at drawing the Livingstonia Synod into DPP’s dirty political theatrics, is being orchestrated by DPP Secretary General Peter Mukhitho—infamously associated with the “Noah and the fish” narrative—alongside DPP Vice President for the North Jappie Mhango, Vice President for the Centre Alfred Gangata, and Director of Youth Norman “Pythius Hiwa” Chisale.
The Synod’s Deputy General Secretary, Reverend Isiah Vwiyapu Mhone, allegedly coordinates the initiative on behalf of the party, with the support of Synod Moderator Reverend Professor Timothy Nyasulu, who also serves as Vice Chancellor of the University of Livingstonia.
Through Rev. Mhone and Prof. Nyasulu, the DPP officials have tried to persuade the Synod’s General Secretary, Reverend William Mwale, to allow clergy participation. However, Rev. Mwale has made it unequivocally clear that he has no interest in involving the Synod’s ministers in partisan politics.
“Rev. Mhone has been trying to rally support among his colleagues, but it’s clear he’s not achieving the intended outcome. There are strong indications that he received a significant amount of money for this mission, and he now finds himself cornered, as no minister from the Synod is willing to visit Page House,” a senior clergy member close to the Synod leadership revealed.
The source added that Rev. Mhone faced humiliation recently when he took Rev. Tembo to Page House without prior arrangements, falsely promising that the Livingstonia Synod would organize a formal delegation to visit Mutharika.
“The General Secretary, his Deputy, and a few other clergy members were returning from Zomba where they had attended a public lecture by Honourable Vitumbiko Mumba. Suddenly, Rev. Mhone proposed a detour to Mangochi, claiming he had personal errands to run,” the source recounted.
Upon arrival in Mangochi, after completing a few private engagements, Rev. Mhone suggested visiting Mutharika. To the shock of his colleagues, the visit appeared prearranged. Rev. Mhone took the lead, introduced his fellow ministers, and even addressed Mutharika on their behalf.
“It felt like an ambush. In his speech, Rev. Mhone emphasized that the visit was unofficial but assured Mutharika that the full Synod would come later. This move deeply angered Rev. Mwale, and the relationship between the GS and his deputy has since soured,” said the source.
In an apparent bid to project an image of widespread church support for Mutharika, DPP leaders have also tried to engage clergy from all three CCAP Synods in Malawi. The Blantyre Synod was the first to fall into the trap, but their visit turned into a public embarrassment after it was revealed that most of the visiting ministers were not genuine Synod members.
More recently, Gangata was again exposed when it was discovered that a group presented as ministers from the Nkhoma Synod were actually individuals from various unaffiliated congregations in the Central Region. This deception prompted the Nkhoma Synod leadership to issue a strongly worded statement distancing itself from the visit.
Gangata, along Chisale and the former First Lady Gertrude Mutharika have been advancing the proposition of a return to office by the ailing 86-year-old Mutharika who is widely believed to be in poor health due to his advanced age. It is now understood that Mutharika has since given in to reason and decided to halt his ambitions of running this September.
In a letter signed by Reverend Vasco Kachipapa, General Secretary of the Nkhoma Synod, it was clarified that only six out of the 267 Synod ministers were part of the Page House visit. Of those, five were active, one retired, and another had been dismissed in 2020 and was no longer considered part of the Synod.
“The ministers attended the Page House visit not as official representatives of the Synod, but as members of a separate pastoral fraternity. While they have the right to associate freely, they violated Synod policy by using the ‘CCAP Nkhoma Synod’ name to further a political agenda,” the statement read.
Following these revelations, the implicated ministers were summoned for a disciplinary hearing.
It later emerged that Gangata exploited the situation to misappropriate K18 million. He allegedly claimed the funds were to support the visiting clergy, but investigations showed that the supposed beneficiaries never received the promised money.
