MP blames Chakwera’s inner circle — stacked with family and church allies — for MCP’s collapse

Lilongwe Nyanja MP Steve Baba Malondera has ignited a political firestorm after launching a blistering attack on senior figures within the Malawi Congress Party, insisting former President Lazarus Chakwera was “a good leader undone by those around him.” Speaking at a packed community gathering in Malembo, Malondera didn’t hold back, laying the blame for MCP’s dismal election showing squarely at the feet of Chakwera’s inner circle — not the former president himself — accusing them of botching campaign strategy and driving voters away in droves. But the MP’s remarks have already sparked a furious backlash, with critics quick to point out an uncomfortable truth: Chakwera’s much-criticised inner circle was itself heavily populated by his own family members and allies from his own church. Among those repeatedly named by critics as central to Chakwera’s tight circle of power is his son-in-law Sean Kampondebi, alongside a number of figures drawn from the Assemblies of God Church — raising serious questions over whether “those around him” were ever truly separate from the former president at all.

Analysts have been quick to pour cold water on Malondera’s attempt to shield Chakwera from blame, arguing the buck ultimately stops with the man at the top. Their argument is a simple one: if Chakwera’s inner circle really was as damaging as Malondera claims, it was the former president’s own responsibility to change it — and his failure to do so, they argue, makes him just as culpable as those he surrounded himself with. Malondera, however, wasn’t finished there — turning his fire on the current DPP government too, branding an alleged scheme involving South Africa-based middlemen as nothing short of “reckless.” In a particularly eye-catching claim, Malondera alleged that government had spent an exorbitant sum repatriating a single Malawian fleeing violence in South Africa — money he insisted could have been far better spent elsewhere.

He stopped short, however, of providing further detail on the exact figures involved, or naming the middlemen he claims were benefiting from the arrangement. Malondera delivered his explosive remarks as guest of honour at an event hosted by fellow legislator Lawrence Chakakala Chaziya at Malembo Primary School’s sports ground — a gathering that quickly became the centre of heated debate, with both supporters and critics reacting sharply to his comments. The MP’s willingness to simultaneously defend Chakwera while attacking his own party’s internal dynamics, alongside his broadside against the current government, suggests a politician attempting to carve out an independent voice — even if it means picking fights on multiple fronts at once. Whether Malondera’s defence of Chakwera will hold up under further scrutiny remains to be seen, particularly given the mounting criticism over how closely intertwined the former president’s family and church connections were with the very inner circle he is now being accused of failing to control.