Malawi is leaderless at the moment

Malawi is leaderless at the moment.

President Peter Mutharika has been in South Africa for more than two weeks on what officials call a “private visit”, with no reason given and no date set for his return. It is his fifth such trip since he returned to office last year. He is there seeking medical treatment.

Back home, Vice President Jane Ansah, who was elected on the same ticket as the President, is being pushed aside by his inner circle.

She has been kept out of serious meetings, her office has been stripped of key responsibilities, and those around the President have made it plain that they do not want her to become president when the inevitable happens.

We have seen this before. It is the Bingu wa Mutharika and Joyce Banda drama all over again.

In 2012, the late President’s inner circle tried to block his Vice President from taking over after his death, and Malawi was pushed to the edge of a constitutional crisis.

It is sad to watch a country repeat the same mistakes. Malawians deserve to know who is running their country.