By The Contributor
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is today standing accused of one of the gravest acts of political betrayal in Malawi’s recent history. A party that once thrived on sacrifice, courage, and unwavering loyalty has now turned its back on those who defended it when doing so came at great personal cost.
Even more disturbing is the bitter irony now playing out in plain sight: individuals who openly pushed the age-limit agenda aimed at blocking Arthur Peter Mutharika from contesting for leadership have not only been forgiven, but rewarded with positions and influence. At the same time, those who fiercely resisted the age-limit push—risking arrests, intimidation, character assassination, and professional ruin—have been abandoned like political trash.
This is not just hypocrisy. It is calculated betrayal.
For years, activists and journalists stood firm when it was dangerous to do so. They defended Mutharika when state machinery, hostile propaganda, and public ridicule were deployed to destroy him politically. They did not do this for money, contracts, or positions. They did it out of conviction. They did it when it cost them jobs, safety, peace, and in some cases, their very livelihoods.
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Names such as Lytone Mangochi, Bon Kalindo, Nranyiwa, Bishop Kachenje, and Pastor Shumba are not strangers to sacrifice. Journalists like Burnett Munthali, Suleman Chiltera, Vincent Gunde, and Jones Gadama paid a heavy price for standing on principle. They endured threats, isolation, blacklisting, and sustained attacks simply for refusing to bow to political bullying.
Today, their reward is silence, neglect, and exclusion.
Meanwhile, those who publicly mocked Mutharika, undermined his leadership, and campaigned aggressively to lock him out of office through constitutional manipulation are now comfortably seated at the table of power. They are smiling. They are employed. They are influential. They are “doing well.”
This is a slap in the face of loyalty.
The message being sent by the DPP leadership is chillingly clear: sacrifice means nothing, loyalty is disposable, and principles are only useful until power is secured. Once interests are protected, those who fought hardest are no longer needed.
A political party that punishes loyalty and rewards betrayal is a party rotting from the inside. It destroys morale. It discourages future defenders. It teaches young activists and journalists that standing on principle is foolish, because in the end, opportunism pays better than integrity.
If the DPP believes it can survive by empowering those who once sought its destruction while sidelining those who shielded it in its darkest hour, then it is building its future on quicksand.
History does not forget betrayals of this magnitude. Neither do the people who were sacrificed for convenience.
The DPP must decide—urgently—whether it stands for loyalty and truth, or whether it has fully embraced political ingratitude as policy. If this path continues, the party should not be surprised when, tomorrow, no one is willing to stand up for it when the fire comes again.
