Africa-Press – Malawi. In a political landscape drowning in secrecy, blurred books, and troubling violations of the Political Parties Act, one party has unexpectedly emerged as the rare beacon of compliance: the United Democratic Front (UDF).
This revelation comes from a new report presented in Lilongwe by a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs), including the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) and Chisankho Watch. At a time when Malawi’s major parties are evading donor disclosures and mixing State funding with private money, the UDF stands out as one of only two parties that submitted donor information to the Registrar of Political Parties — and remains the only one consistently meeting financing rules without scandal.
According to Registrar of Political Parties Kizito Tenthani, despite the law requiring full transparency, most parties did not disclose their funders at all. Only the UDF and the People’s Party (PP) provided partial details — but unlike PP, UDF has no recorded case of mixing State funds with private money.
That cannot be said for the big players.
Between 2019 and 2025, the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the former ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) collected K432 million and K430 million respectively in public funding — yet both were found to have blended taxpayer money with private funds, a direct violation of the Political Parties Act of 2018.
“This weak enforcement environment sends a signal that non-compliance has no consequences,” CHRR executive director Michael Kaiyatsa said. “Political parties can spend even trillions without accountability because the law has no spending caps.”
While the CSOs blame Parliament — which controls the purse and is dominated by the very parties benefiting from the money — the Registrar places the blame partly on institutions still “building capacity.” But even he acknowledges that UDF’s compliance is notable in a system where transparency appears optional.
Governance expert Willy Kambwandira was more blunt. He said political financing in Malawi has become “a playground of impunity,” arguing that Parliament should no longer control how public funds are allocated to political parties.
“When beneficiaries control oversight, the system is compromised from the start,” he said. “We need an independent channel — the ORPP — if we are serious about integrity.”
CSOs are now pushing for sweeping reforms: spending caps, stronger investigative powers for the ORPP, and removal of Parliament from the funding chain altogether.
But beyond the noise and political defensiveness one fact is impossible to ignore: in a field of chronic non-compliance, the UDF is the only party showing signs that transparency is still possible.
As the country debates the future of political financing, the question now is whether others will follow UDF’s example — or continue treating public funds as private playgrounds where accountability goes to die.
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