Mutharika hailed for choosing Chimulirenji as running mate

By Robert Kumwenda

A local business entrepreneur by the name of Donex Zimbulani has commented incumbent President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika for choosing Overton Chimulirenji as his running mate in the run up to May tripartite elections.

Zimbulani said Mutharika’s decision is the right one considering that Chimulirenji comes from Ntcheu which is the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) strong hold.

“Vice President Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima who ditched the DPP to form his own United Transformation Movement (UTM) also comes from the same district, so had it been that he picked someone from somewhere else this could have negatively affected the party performance not in Ntcheu alone but the whole central region,” he said.

Zimbulani the owner of Donz Engineering in Blantyre said Chimulirenji choice is the right considering the fact that he is from another tribe which shows that there is exclusivity for people of all tribes in government.

“It was difficult for Mutharika to pick Henry Chimunthu Banda as running mate because he left the party for a while and went into exile. Moreover, was just a new comer into the party, the same with veteran politician popularly known as ‘Change Goal’ Uladi Mussa joined the party in less than a year after ditching it some years ago,” he said.

The Blantyre based entrepreneur said the party’s constitution states that for anyone to be elected for the position like that of the vice president he or she must have serve the party for not less than three year’s.

He said those who are talking are supposed to talk because there were more people that were eyeing for that position in the party but it pleased the president to choose Chimulirenji.