In what is now being widely described as a catastrophic political blunder, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Arthur Peter Mutharika and his Ntcheu Cabal led by Norman Chisale may have signed the party’s electoral death warrant before a single vote is cast in September.
By selecting former Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson Justice Dr. Jane Ansah as his running mate, Mutharika has not only reignited the ghosts of the 2019 post-election chaos but also deepened suspicions that the DPP has been hijacked by an elite, ethnic-based clique known by insiders as “The Ntcheu Cabal.”
Jane Ansah’s name is etched in the country’s memory for all the wrong reasons.
As chairperson of the MEC during the 2019 presidential elections, Ansah presided over what the Constitutional Court later ruled as a fundamentally flawed and illegitimate election.
The infamous “Tipp-Ex Election,” as it came to be known due to widespread tampering with tally sheets, plunged Malawi into political turmoil and nationwide protests. People took to the streets in their thousands demanding her resignation, accusing her of aiding Mutharika’s contested victory.
It took almost a year of relentless citizen pressure for Ansah to finally step down.
Her tenure is remembered as one of the most polarizing in Malawi’s democratic history, casting a long shadow over the DPP’s legitimacy.
Ironically, Mutharika, during his nomination speech, lauded the 2019 elections as “one of the best elections ever held anywhere in the world,” effectively gaslighting a nation still recovering from the trauma of electoral injustice.
Mutharika further touted Ansah as a God fearing woman being a Bishop of her own Church, Christ Citadel which she runs with her husband.
Political observers and civil society actors alike have been quick to point out the audacity of the statement.
“Mutharika is essentially spitting on the 2019 protests, the court ruling, and the constitutional order that restored sanity to our electoral system,” said one political analyst.
The former President’s statement is not surprising though. He has for the past five years arguing that government was stolen from him using the Constitutional Court.
To date he does not believe that he lost the elections a narrative that threatens national peace once he loses again with many believing that, with his advanced age and nothing to lose, he would be ready to do anything even burning the country down in protest.
Perhaps even more alarming is the ethnic and familial consolidation of power within the DPP’s top leadership.
Jane Ansah, like Mutharika’s wife Getrude Maseko and his longtime aide-de-camp Norman Chisale, hails from Ntcheu. Mutharika’s own mother also comes from the same district, making the web of connections too deep to ignore.
Critics argue that this is no coincidence but part of a deliberate design to concentrate power and patronage within a single geographic and social elite.
The re-emergence of this so-called “Ntcheu Cabal” comes at a time when the DPP is under pressure to project national unity and rehabilitate its image. Instead, it has doubled down on nepotism and tribal loyalty, risking a voter backlash of historic proportions.
“It is shameful and dangerous. The DPP is not a family farm in Ntcheu. What signal are we sending to voters in the North, Centre, and Lower Shire? That they don’t matter?” Said one disgruntled DPP NEC member who asked not to be named.
It is also rumoured that that at one time the two—Mutharika and Ansah—enjoyed a steaming love affairwhich at one time threatened the former High Court Judge’s marriage.
Mutharika’s choice of Ansah also exposes bitter intra-party rivalries and ruthless internal manipulation. Heavyweights like Bright Msaka, Alfred Gangata, and even former Vice President Everton Chimulirenji have all been ruthlessly thrown under the bus and passed over, despite stronger grassroots appeal and longer political resumes.
In particular, the manner in which Justice Ansah secured her parliamentary seat in Ntcheu South East raised eyebrows. She triumphed over Chimulirenji under suspicious circumstances, with the DPP machinery manipulating the primary process in her favor.
The entire process of making Ansah the candidate was a stage-managed farce after Chimulirenji already won the elections only to be outmaneuvered later through what has been exposed now as, pre-written script.
This move was strategic: it cleared the path for Ansah to qualify as a running mate under the constitutional requirement to be a legislator or presidential nominee. Now, it appears the parliamentary seat was merely a stepping stone to bigger ambitions, carefully orchestrated from within the Ntcheu nexus.
DPP insiders are privately in panic mode. Party structures in the North and parts of the Central Region are reportedly in revolt. Several district committees have refused to campaign for the presidential ticket, citing Ansah’s toxicity and Mutharika’s disregard for inclusivity.
Youth wing leaders have voiced fears that the ticket will demobilize the party’s base rather than energize it. One senior youth official in Mzuzu declared, “We did not suffer the humiliation of opposition for five years only to be dragged back to 2019.”
Meanwhile, independent analysts argue that the DPP has likely alienated critical swing voters, especially youth and women, by appearing tone-deaf to the wounds still fresh from the last time Ansah wielded institutional power.
The political gamble may benefit MCP, whose candidate Lazarus Chakwera is already presenting himself as inclusive and future-focused.
Ansah’s elevation sets a disturbing precedent. Instead of being held accountable for presiding over a flawed and divisive electoral process, she is being rewarded with the second-highest office in the land.
This emboldens a culture where political loyalty trumps public service, and failure is no obstacle to promotion.
This also erodes public trust in governance and justice systems. It suggests that even those who nearly pushed the country to the brink of civil war can bounce back unscathed, if they are part of the right ethnic circle.
“Jane Ansah was not just a public officer; she was the symbol of institutional betrayal in 2019. Her return is not just tone-deaf, it is dangerous,” said a civil rights lawyer.
By choosing Jane Ansah as his running mate, Peter Mutharika may have scored an own goal of epic proportions. What was meant to be a show of stability and experience has instead opened old wounds, confirmed fears of tribal hegemony, and thrown the DPP’s campaign into disarray.
The 2025 elections are shaping up to be a referendum not just on policy but on memory, justice, and accountability. With this decision, Mutharika has not just lost the plot, he may have lost the vote even before ballots are cast.
