BY ONJEZANI KENANI
The appointment of Dr. Michael Usi was the safest and most logical the President could have made under the circumstances. If, for example, he had appointed someone from the Malawi Congress Party, the reaction could have been “They eliminated Chilima to replace him with one of their own.” But the President, recognizing that MCP remains in an alliance with UTM, found himself obliged to choose a replacement from UTM.
As it turns out, Michael Usi was handpicked by the late Vice President as his number 2. During the funeral, sentiments erupted indicating that Usi is UTM in name only, as his soul appears to have been at one with MCP in the last four years.
Whether that is true or not, he remained UTM Vice President, and so it was only logical for the President to choose him to replace SKC.
Of course, it will be hard for the majority of UTM supporters to accept Usi. Most of them supported UTM because of SKC. Without SKC, to them UTM is as good as dead.
Therein lies the steep climb for Usi as he seeks to rebuild the party. Without the SKC factor, UTM’s relevance in the 2025 elections could be in peril, unless Usi works with speed to awaken a silent majority.
