Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) has released funds and government vehicles to Senior Chief Mazengera and other Lilongwe traditional leaders who have defied the Chiefs Act and dragged into partisan politics by campaigning for President Bingu wa Mutharika and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) aspiring Members of Parliament.

A reliable source at Capital Hill this week revealed that the Chief Secretary, Bright Msaka had instructed some ministries to make available vehicles with fuel to facilitate mobility for Senior Chief Mazengera and a selected group of junior traditional leaders in some parts of Lilongwe rural where Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is very strong, a move senior civil servants have criticized.

“Msaka told us that President Bingu wa Mutharika had sent his Political Advisor Hetherwick Ntaba to convey the instructions, and that there was nothing he could do, but to oblige,” said our source.

Senior Chief Mazengera, given a vehicle which has its Malawi Government Registration Number changed to BT 675, is leader of the campaign team whose programme has already taken the chiefs to Namulera-Mphanza, Bango, Mpangula, Matula and Tindi in the Lilongwe Mpenu Constituency.

“Chief Mazengera and his team are holding mass rallies as if they are politicians. This is shameful and against the Chiefs Act which is very clear about the role of traditional leaders in this country,” said an MCP supporter from Matuta area. “We hear they have eleven places to visit before the official closure of the campaign on 17^th May 2009. They travel on convoys using taxpayers’ money.”

Documents leaked from OPC show that Senior Chief Mazengera and chiefs Kalumbu and Tsabango went through a short workshop on how to translate the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) manifesto to their subjects.

The papers also exposed a budget of K10 million for the meetings to be held throughout Lilongwe rural and whistle-stops in places President President Bingu wa Mutharika and his running mate Joyce Banda will not manage to tour during the remaining days of the campaign.

Chief Mazengera is on record castigating MCP President JZU Tembo in all his rallies and openly saying he and his family belong to DPP and not any other party because Bingu has given him a lot of money to ensure that people of Lilongwe vote for DPP.”

However, Chief Mazengera’s subjects say there is nothing that government has done in the five years of Mutharika’s administration, and that the fertilizer coupons were only distributed to DPP leaders and Chief Mazengera’s relatives, therefore, they will vote for JZU Tembo as President and MCP MPs.

“No one can separate us from MCP and our President JZU Tembo,” said a Group Village Headman who refused to join Mazengera’s taskforce. “We know the great things Ngwazi Dr H. Kamuzu Banda did in this country, and we know that the only leader who can start from where the Ngwazi left is JZU Tembo.”

He criticized Senior Chief Mazengera for practicing partisan politics contrary to the Chiefs Act, adding that people were shocked to see a traditional leader wearing DPP blue colours and shouting slogans at public rallies.