Former president Chakwera criticised for press briefing on his party
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Nyasa Times
Former Malawian president Lazarus Chakwera is under criticism after a press conference devoted to internal affairs of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Political commentator Martha Ziya Zimba reproaches him for ignoring hunger, rising prices and unemployment, according to Nyasa Times.
Political commentator Martha Ziya Zimba criticises former Malawian president Lazarus Chakwera’s press conference, devoted to internal affairs of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). According to her, the address focused on the party’s structures, nomination fees and future political battles, without addressing hunger, rising prices and unemployment, which affect millions of Malawians. She describes a party meeting presented as a press conference.
She also reproaches Chakwera, defeated at the September 2025 election, for not fully embracing his status as a former president. She cites inflation, shortages of foreign currency and fuel, and questions the promises made to young people when Chakwera came to power in 2020, while many graduates remain jobless or seek opportunities abroad. Finally, she reproaches him for missing the chance to acknowledge the shortcomings of his administration and to answer questions about accountability.
This intervention is part of a series of internal debates within the MCP: on 10 November, party members called for an emergency convention. Zimba also refers to the nomination fees: their abolition was announced on 13 November.
