Chris Chaima Banda, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) first deputy director of strategic planning, has resigned from both his position and the party, citing disillusionment with its direction over the past five years.
His resignation letter, dated September 26, 2025, surfaced on social media just hours after the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) declared Professor Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) the winner of the September 16 presidential election.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
protected by reCAPTCHA
In the letter addressed to MCP secretary general Richard Chimwendo-Banda, Chaima Banda described his decision as “painful but necessary.”
He accused what he termed a “cartel of opportunists” of hijacking both the party and government, sidelining loyal members while enriching themselves.
“True MCP members were thrown under the bus by a cartel of thieves who hijacked MCP and government machinery, while those thieves were travelling in tinted Prados and flying across the globe chasing the dollar,” the letter reads in part.
Chaima Banda, who said his family has long-standing ties with MCP, recalled leaving a civil service career in the United Kingdom to help the party regain power in 2020.
He alleged, however, that the past administration failed to protect public resources, leading to shortages of medicines, fuel, and foreign currency.
He also cited his ongoing corruption case linked to the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA), arguing that he was unfairly targeted for resisting looting.
“I have been persecuted and my family has suffered humiliation as a reward for everything I have done for MCP,” he wrote.
The letter concludes with a pointed remark that those who benefited financially during MCP’s rule should now be the ones to sustain the party.
The timing of the resignation has sparked debate online, given its release so soon after MEC Chairperson Justice Annabelle Mtalimanja declared Mutharika president-elect with 56.8 percent of the vote.
