By Kenneth Bwanali
The news that President Lazarus Chakwera and outgoing Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba have been barred from attending the Swearing-In and Inauguration Ceremony for President-elect Peter Mutharika is not just a political footnote—it is a deeply troubling development that undermines the very statesmanship the nation seeks to foster.
Reports indicate that elements within the inauguration organising committee, specifically those representing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), argue that the event “is none of their business, this is about the new government.” This stance is fundamentally flawed and dangerously shortsighted.
The transition of power is not a zero-sum game; it is a meticulously choreographed relay race where the outgoing runner, by handing over the baton, validates the process and legitimizes the incoming victor.
President Chakwera has already demonstrated exemplary democratic decorum. He conceded defeat last week and publicly committed to ensuring a smooth, peaceful, and professional transfer of power.
His planned attendance was set to be the ultimate symbolic act—the visual proof of a robust democracy where leaders respect the popular will and peacefully pass the highest office.
To reject this symbolic gesture is not an act of strength or a clean break; it is an act of political pettiness that replaces national unity with partisan squabbles.
An inauguration is not a private party for the winning party; it is a national celebration of democracy and constitutional continuity.
Every citizen, including the outgoing Head of State, has a place in witnessing and participating in this solemn transfer of authority.
Furthermore, the exclusion of SPC Colleen Zamba is counterproductive to the immediate needs of the new administration.
The SPC is the linchpin of the civil service and the administrative facilitator of the entire handover.
Barring her suggests that certain organizing committee members misunderstand the critical, apolitical role the Office of the President and Cabinet plays in ensuring the machinery of government remains operational during the shift.
Her presence would underscore the continuity of the State, regardless of who occupies the Presidency.
While the incoming administration has every right to organize the event, the focus must remain on magnanimity and healing the divisions of a hard-fought election.
The reported efforts to exclude the outgoing leadership send a chilling message that the new government prioritizes settling political scores over fostering reconciliation and a unified national identity.
President-elect Mutharika and the DPP must recognize that true victory is demonstrated not just at the ballot box, but in the generosity and inclusiveness of their leadership.
They should immediately overrule this reported decision, invite President Chakwera and SPC Zamba back, and allow the inauguration to be what it should be: a moment of national unity and respect for the democratic journey.
Anything less cheapens the achievement and casts an unnecessary shadow over the new government’s commitment to democratic norms.
The post The folly of barring Chakwera, Zamba at Mutharika’s inauguration, undermines power handover appeared first on The Maravi Post.