Africa-Press – Malawi. The political ground in Rumphi Central has shifted once again, and this time, the tremor carries the unmistakable weight of internal betrayal and old alliance debts resurfacing. Yeremia Chihana, who only weeks ago boldly declared he would contest the Rumphi Central by-election under the Alliance for Democracy (Aford) ticket, has now signaled his willingness to run on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket instead.
This dramatic turn follows a stern rejection from Aford’s Rukuru region leadership, where regional chairperson Kenneth Msongole publicly announced that the party had advised Chihana not to contest on its ticket. Rather than backing down quietly, Chihana has chosen to flip the political script — and reveal what many insiders have whispered for months: that the Aford-DPP alliance runs deeper, older, and more strategically entangled than either side admits in public.
Speaking in an interview, Chihana unapologetically stated that he would rather help to implement the DPP–Aford policy agenda because he helped write it. He claimed he was part of the group that drafted the shared manifesto and the so-called “Blue Alliance” strategy that brought the two parties into cooperation.
“I have been part of DPP–Aford manifesto and alliance development and other programmes which will be implemented by President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika. I feel I should not be left guessing. It is better to work with a manifesto that I fully understand,” Chihana declared.
His statement lays bare what Aford leadership has consistently denied: that the party’s internal power structures and campaign strategies have long been interlinked with DPP influence — leaving some members complaining of ideological erosion and others accusing the leadership of political selling-out.
DPP’s Rumphi district governor Osman Chiwowa has confirmed Chihana’s interest in joining the race under the ruling party’s banner. He said Chihana will compete with three other aspirants — Alick Yagontha Munthali, Moir Walita Mkandawire, and Menard Mbowe — for the DPP nomination in the upcoming Rumphi Central by-election. Chiwowa adds that the party has not yet settled on a final candidate.
The Rumphi Central seat became vacant after former MP and Aford party president Enock Chihana — Yeremia’s close relative — was sworn in as Second Vice-President in President Arthur Peter Mutharika’s administration. That appointment sparked immediate criticism from Aford supporters who accused their leader of “crossing the floor in silence” while publicly insisting the party remained independent.
Now, with Eremia openly courting the ruling party and publicly admitting involvement in joint manifesto-building, the narrative that Aford is politically autonomous has all but collapsed.
The by-election is no longer just a contest for Rumphi Central.
It has now become a referendum on whether Aford still exists as a political party with an independent identity — or whether it has quietly dissolved into a satellite of the ruling DPP.
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