Chakwera holds talks with Chimwendo on party strategy amid growing leadership rifts

Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president and the country’s sixth president, Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, held a two-hour meeting with party secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda at MCP headquarters in Lilongwe, according to a statement issued by the party.

Chimwendo Banda (left) and Chakwera in discussion at MCP headquarters, as the party works to consolidate its structures ahead of the next electoral cycle.

The engagement, described by MCP as being in the spirit of strengthening and building the party, focused on advancing the party’s strategic direction as it works to consolidate its internal structures.

The party said the discussions formed part of ongoing efforts to prepare MCP for the future, though no further details were given as to specific outcomes or decisions reached during the meeting.

The talks come at a sensitive time for the party, with cracks reportedly emerging over Chakwera’s leadership ahead of the 2030 general election.

Some factions within MCP are said to be firmly behind Chakwera contesting again as the party’s torchbearer, while another camp is understood to be pushing for a fresh leadership contest to select a new candidate to lead the party into the next election.

The growing divide has fuelled speculation over the party’s direction going into the next electoral cycle, with the latest talks between Chakwera and Chimwendo Banda seen by some observers as an attempt to steady the ship and present a united front amid the simmering internal tensions.

Neither Chakwera nor Chimwendo Banda addressed the reported factional divisions directly in the statement issued following their meeting, with the party instead emphasising its focus on consolidation and long-term strategic planning.

MCP President Dr Lazarus Chakwera (left) and party secretary general Richard Chimwendo Banda pictured during their two-hour meeting at party headquarters in Lilongwe.