Former governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has expelled member of Parliament for Mwanza Central, Nicholas Dausi, with immediate effect in the wake of alleged misconduct the party claims to be a violation of its constitution.
DPP’s spokesperson, Shadric Namalomba, has told Nthanda Times in an interview that Dausi’s expulsion is related to three specific incidents that occurred during an exclusive interview with Times Television in July, which he said were contravening Article 6(1) (v), (vii), and (viii) of the party’s constitution.
“Every DDP member needs to subscribe to the code of conduct stipulated in the DPP constitution. A member must obey lawful instructions from seniors, must not undermine the president, or a member of the National Governing Council, (NGC) and also a member must not jeopardize or undermine the interests of the party. Hon. Dausi was found guilty of all these three when he defied president’s directive to feature in a Times TV interview where he made serious allegations to do with NGC which meeting he did not attend,” said Namalomba.
Namalomba added that the party’s disciplinary committee recommended the expulsion of the Mwanza Central Legislator after he defied the committee’s summon, a recommendation which was confirmed by the party’s Central Executive Committee.
“The party’s disciplinary committee summoned him for a disciplinary hearing which he snubbed, and the committee made a recommendation to expel Dausi, which was confirmed by the Central Executive committee. Dausi ceases to be DPP Member of Parliament, Publicity Secretary, and a member of the NGC,” added Namalomba.
Responding to his expulsion, Dausi chose not to comment until he received official communication from the party regarding the decision.
He stressed the importance of following proper protocols and procedures in such cases.
“I will not comment until I see the official communication. Thank you so much for telling me, but through you, could you tell them normally the protocol and procedure they serve the person who has been fired. So, I suppose they will be kind enough and able enough to serve me. I am in Mwanza, they can find me I am around. Let them give me the letter and I will respond accordingly, right now I have no comment because I haven’t seen the communication,” said Dausi.
Meanwhile, political commentators have weighed in on the matter, raising important questions about the expulsion and its implications.
Chimwemwe Tsitsi noted that the ongoing expulsions within the DPP indicate a lack of party unity and cast doubts on the party’s readiness for an upcoming convention.
“It is very obvious that they cannot agree on one thing in the DPP and some party members are being dismissed from the party for failing to live up to the party’s disciplinary, this is an indication that the party is not ready to reunite and go to a convention,” said Tsitsi.
Tsitsi expressed hope that a fair and free convention could help resolve internal disputes.
“Unity is very important in every party, I hope the convention will be able to resolve some of the disputes that they have in the party if the convention is held in a free and fair manner. The unfortunate thing that is happening in the DPP is that the people that are holding the positions now, much as they were united the last time they were holding a convention, are no longer united behind one leader at the moment. But it is my belief that after the convention that people who will be holding various positions in the party will be united in support of the leader that will win at the convention”
Another political commentator Victor Chipofya has questioned whether Dausi’s actions violated the country’s constitution, highlighting the freedom of association protected by the national constitution.
He suggested that the alignment of party laws with the broader legal framework should be examined.
“With what Dausi has done, we should ask ourselves to say that he has broken the country’s constitution, which says that any law that is contrary to it should be looked at as invalid. So, the expulsion of Dausi, because he expressed views that might be seen as contrary to the party’s constitution, we should look at it and say, are the party’s laws in line with the Malawi Constitution or not. So, the law should be our benchmark at this time,” said Chipofya.
Concurring with Chipofya, another Political Commentator George Phiri has challenged the party’s authority to expel members, emphasizing that individuals join parties voluntarily.
Phiri has argued that expulsions of senior members from the party could weaken the party in the long run, as individuals have the right to associate with any political party.
“Dausi knows that if he is disassociated with the DPP, he can associate with any other political party if he wishes. Otherwise, it is the DPP that will lose, not Dausi. I’m saying this because the strength of any political party is dependent on the number of people who are members of that party. Now, expelling one member from the party, it is the party that weakens itself, because it is losing a member to another party.
“Or even if Dausi decides to be an independent person, he can be. There’s nothing wrong with that. And if he can be, then it is still the DPP that will lose because they have lost a member and usually in politics, it is not just that remember, the expelling of Dausi means any other person who is closely related to him, may not support the DPP,” said Phiri.
Dausi, who was recently seen attending a rally organized by Malawi Congress Party condemned the party’s NGC for proposing what he termed as dictatorial laws to governing the daily operations of the party during on 8th July 2023 in a Times Television Exclusive program.
Among others, Dausi said that the NGC meeting had agreed to deduct 10 percent from salaries of executive chiefs employed in all parastatal institutions such as water boards, Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM).
A few hours before the beaming and airing of the programme, DPP obtained a court order prohibiting Dausi from granting the interview in his official capacity.
