What’s private about APM’s trips?

There is something about democracy that its elected servants have nothing to hide—they derive their power and public information from the people they serve.

“In a democracy there is free flow of information. When you speak, other people must have the right to speak also,” said Minister of Information Nicolas Dausi in reaction to the April 2018 protests against corrupt governance.

The deposed Mwanza Central parliamentarian, who reveres the Greek thinkers behind democracy, was the former Minister of Information in President Peter Mutharika’s Democratic Progressive Party that has now ejected him.

Today, Malawians are concerned about secrecy over the President’s persistent private trips amid economic hiccups, marked with fuel and forex shortages.

The question marks keep rising as the 86-year-old leader has made five trips to South Africa since his comeback in September 2025.

Chief Secretary to Government Justin Saidi terms them “private trips”, but offers no further clue about the funders and State business involved.

Mutharika arrives home, ending a fourth trip from South Africa in August this year . l Nation

The announcement of his latest departure, on October 6 2026, came after a chartered jet carrying Mutharika had already taken off at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe.

Previously, Saidi updated the nation before the President’s departure.

“Private means private,” says the topmost civil servant. “It is not in the interest of the public to know about what the President does in South Africa or who is footing the expenses.”

The sustained secrecy fuels speculation about Mutharika’s health, but Saidi discredits it as mere propaganda.

It appears that nothing will move government machinery to demystify Mutharika’s trips despite mounting pressure.

However, critics say he is not just a private citizen like any other.

To them, the Head of State and Government has to account to the citizenry which entrusted him with power and responsibility.

The voices opposed to secrecy say the Constitution gives Malawians the right to know not only where the President goes but also whether the trips are taxpayer-funded and any State business on his agenda.

“All legal and political authority of the State derives from the people and shall be exercised in accordance with the Constitution solely to serve and protect their interests,” reads Article 12 (1) of the Constitution.

The critics say the constitutional principle—that the President holds his powers on behalf of the people he is elected to govern—overrides Mutharika’s right to privacy.

Associate professor Boniface Dulani, from the University of Malawi’s Department of Politics and Government, states that Malawians have a right to know about Mutharika’s travel plan.

He says the person in question is none other than the President of a country he governs on trust from the electorate who gave him about 57 percent of the vote last year.

The political science scholar argues: “It is insulting to Malawians not to be told what Mutharika’s trips are all about, how much they are costing and how long they will take.

“Otherwise, I don’t think the law should be specifying all nitty-gritty’s such as the number of private trips the Head of State can make.”

However, the State machinery, including Saidi who leads the Office of the President and Cabinet, has been mean with information since December 1 2025, when Mutharika first flew to South Africa and spent 14 days there.

The President flew back to Nelson Mandela’s ‘rainbow nation’ on March 1 this year, spending 11 days. He then quietly made a 17-day ‘private visit’ on June 12 followed by another 11-day trip from August 5.

Dulani invokes Section 12, argues that Malawians “deserve to be informed even if the President might be seeking medical care outside the country.

He reasons that in his official capacity, the President of the Republic of Malawi cannot escape public scrutiny and accountability like an ordinary citizen.

The country’s laws are mum on the number of private and State trips a president can make annually.

However, Dulani urges Mutharika and his handlers to exercise their authority and power in the interest of Malawians, as the Constitution stipulates.

“In this case, how are these trips serving the interests of Malawians?” he asks.

Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Michael Kaiyatsa says the culture of secrecy raises transparency and accountability questions in a constitutional democracy.

He says while the claimed privacy may justify why authorities are withholding specific details, “it cannot serve as a blanket excuse for secrecy”.

Kaiyatsa says: “If Mutharika’s trips are genuinely private, the government should be able to clarify whether they are funded privately or through public resources—even without disclosing personal details.

“Where public resources are involved, accountability is never optional. The government owes Malawians more than assurances that nothing is irregular. “It owes them sufficient transparency to demonstrate that public resources are being used responsibly and that the principles of accountability are upheld.”

This month, Mutharika ended his first year in office without going abroad for a State visit or international event.

He often delegates international conferences to either his handpicked Second Vice-President Enock Chihana or Cabinet ministers, sidelining First Vice-President Jane Ansah, who was his running mate on the ballot.

This is not the first time a lengthy trip beyond the borders has stirred controversy about the President’s health, but he prides himself as Mkulukutamoyo, a proverbial cat with nine lives and the Harry Houdin of Malawi.

“Old soldiers never die,” the US-trained lawyer declared during his swearing-in last October, touting himself as a remarkably resilient fellow capable of escaping dangerous situations.

He defeated his one-time successor, Pentecostal pastor Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi Congress Party, amid widespread economic concerns.

Mutharika promised a return to proven leadership, but his disappearing act coincides with crippling forex and fuel shortages voters wanted ended when they ejected Chakwera.

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